The Taj Mahal has been served notices for property tax and water tax for the first time in history, reported NDTV on Tuesday. Archeological Survey officials, however, have said it is a mistake and will be rectified soon.
Notice for outstanding bills have also been served to the Agra Fort. The Archeological Survey has been asked to pay over Rs 1 crore in due taxes for the Taj Mahal and Rs 5 crore for the Agra Fort, according to Raj Kumar Patel, the agency’s superintending archaeologist.
“For the Taj Mahal, we have got two notices, one for property tax and the other from the water supply department that has 12 points,” Patel told NDTV.
He said that property tax or house tax is not applicable to monuments.
“Uttar Pradesh laws have this provision too and so do other states,” he added. “As for the water notice, in the past no such demand has been made and we do not have any water connection that we use for any commercial purposes. The lawns that we maintain inside the Taj complex are for public service and there is no question of dues.”
Patel said the Cantonment Board that had issued notice to the Agra Fort has been told that the Cantonment Board Act exempts monuments. The Act provides for municipal administration and governance of notified cantonments in the country.
Meanwhile, Agra Municipal Commissioner Nikhil T Funde said that he was not aware that notices had been issued to the Taj Mahal, reported The Times of India.
He, however, told the newspaper that notices were being issued to all premises, including government buildings and religious sites, based on the statewide geographic information system survey conducted for calculating taxes.
“In the case of notices issued to ASI, required action will be taken on the basis of response received from them,” Funde added.
Assistant Municipal Commissioner Sarita Singh, who is in charge of the zone where Taj Mahal complex is located, said that an investigation is underway in the matter.
“A private company has been tasked to realise tax on the basis of a GIS survey,” Singh told The Times of India.
The construction of the Taj Mahal was commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1632 and the project was finished in 1653. A marble mausoleum, the Taj Mahal is one of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Sites.
The Agra Fort is another Unesco World Heritage Sites and was built by Mughal emperor Akbar. The fort was the main residence of Mughal Dynasty emperors before the capital was moved from Agra to Delhi in 1638.
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