Agra Municipal Corporation slaps property tax and water tax on Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal has been issued a notice to pay Rs 1.47 lakh as house tax by the Agra Municipal Corporation. The notice for the tax was issued to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).ASI Agra superintendent R K Patel is now taking advice from the ASI directorate over the issue as, according to the notice, the tax has to be paid within 15 days.

A similar notice has been sent to Itmad-ud-Daulah, which is also an ASI-protected monument and one of the contenders for World-heritage monument status.The notice sent to the ASI shows the pending house tax till March 31, 2022 as Rs 88,784, adding Rs 47,983 as interest for non-payment of due taxes. Rs 11,098 has been charged as house tax for the year 2022-23, adding up to a total of Rs 14,7826 which has to be paid within 15 days. Meanwhile, expressing shock at the notice, Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber secretary Vishal Sharma said that the Taj Mahal is a central government property and a world heritage monument. It is beyond comprehension why the Agra Municipal Corporation has served a tax recovery notice for the monument to the ASI. He said that the Taj Mahal was declared a protected monument about 102 years back in 1920. Since then, this is the first time that the ASI has been served a house tax notice for the monument. Sharma said that even the British government never brought the Taj Mahal under house tax, and the Agra Mayor should explain why this notice was issued.