Taj Mahal receives a notice for unpaid water and property taxes. “Error,” claim heritage officials

Credent Tv: As of now, three notices have been received—two for the Taj Mahal and one for the Agra Fort, according to Raj Kumar Patel, the ASI’s supervising archaeologist in Agra.

Lucknow: For the first time in its 370-year history, the Taj Mahal in Agra, which brings millions of tourists to India each year, has received letters for property tax and water bills. It is a mistake, according to ASI officials, and one that they hope will be corrected quickly.
Several departments of the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government have sent summonses for unpaid debts on the Taj Mahal and the Agra fort. The ASI has been requested to pay “dues” totaling more than one crore rupees.

According to ASI’s supervising archaeologist in Agra, Raj Kumar Patel, three notices have thus far been received: two for the Taj Mahal and one for the Agra Fort.

Two notices were sent for the Taj Mahal: one was for property taxes, and the other was for a 12-point water supply violation. “The ASI has been asked for a total of 1 crore plus rupees,” “said Dr. Patel.

Since such taxes don’t apply to monuments, the official insisted that it must be an error.

“First off, the premises of a monument are exempt from property or house taxes. This clause is present in statutes from other states as well as Uttar Pradesh. Regarding the water notice, no such request has ever been made in the past, and we don’t have any water connections that we use for any kind of profit-making. We keep the lawns within the Taj compound up for public use. There is no doubt about paying for the lawns that we keep up inside the Taj property because they are a public utility, according to Dr. Patel.

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The Mughal rulers of the Mughal Dynasty lived in the Agra fort, a UNESCO world heritage site constructed by Akbar, as their primary home up until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. According to ASI officials, a five crore rupee tax claim has also been made against this historic monument.

“We received notice from the cantonment board for the Agra fort, a World Heritage Site, totaling more than 5 crores. We have informed them that monuments are exempt under the relevant government act, according to Dr. Patel.

A senior municipal official in Agra was quoted by The Times of India as saying that a probe into the notifications’ issuance process had been authorized. Additionally, the officer said that a private business was handling the notices under contract with the government.