When it comes to toll tax on Taj Mahal, the ADA listens to no one

The tourism industry is now planning to petition the Union Tourism Ministry as well as the UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, requesting them to settle the issue of toll tax soon and address the basic issue of raising tourist traffic in Agra, which they claim, will bring more revenue than the toll-tax.

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When it comes to toll tax on Taj Mahal, the ADA listens to no one
Historic Taj Mahal in Agra. (Reuters)

Taj Mahal
Historic Taj Mahal in Agra. (Reuters)

It never made the Taj Mahal, but the Agra Development Authority (ADA) is the only local body in the entire country, that has arm-twisted millions of tourists, both from India and abroad, in shelling out billions of rupees as the 'toll-tax' for visiting the Taj. Contrary to toll-tax provisions, there is no time limit on this tax, which the authority calls 'pathkar' and time to time raises in this tax is also at the whims of this authority.

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A tax that is charged on visitors under the UP government's law of taxing entry into public places, the 'pathkar' was levied back in the 1970s as a way to improve the Taj Mahal's surroundings with the income and despite the requests of two Union Tourism Ministers as well as the directives of the Supreme Court, the ADA has taken no steps to either cut down or completely abolish the tax. Instead, it is now preparing to increase this tax further.

In a meeting held recently, the ADA chairman and Agra Divisional Commissioner Pradeep Bhatnagar recommended that the pathkar on Taj Mahal be raised from Rs. 500/- to Rs. 750/- for foreign tourists, while for Indian tourists it may be raised from Rs. 10/- to Rs. 40/-. Adding the Archaeological Survey of India's entry ticket of Rs. 250/- for foreigners and Rs. 10/- for Indians, an entry to this world famous monument of love will cost Rs. 1000/- to the foreigners and Rs. 50/- to Indians. The decision of the ADA board has been sent to the UP Urban Planning Ministry for approval, after which, it will become effective.

The arbitrarily raised toll-tax on the Tajmahal has raised heckles in the local tourism industry who claim that the ADA is acting like an autocratic entity, paying to attention to the loss it is causing to the tourism industry of Agra through such actions. They claimed that the Supreme Court of India, in its judgment dated 30 November 2000 had directed the ADA to reduce the toll-tax to a justifiable limit, but the ADA paid no attention to it. On 24 November 2003, the UP Housing and Urban Development Ministry had issued a gazette notification modifying the toll-tax on the Taj Mahal to Rs. 250/-, but the ADA paid no attention to that either.

Similarly, on 9 January 2003, the then Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Jagmohan had advised the then UP Chief Minister to abolish toll-tax on the Taj Mahal and other Agra monuments, but that letter, as well as the letter issued on 29 August 2008 by Ambika Soni, Jagmohan's successor in the ministry regarding a reduction in the toll-tax to prevent causing a detrimental effect on the tourism industry, went in vain.

The tourism industry is now planning to petition the Union Tourism Ministry as well as the UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, requesting them to settle the issue of toll tax soon and address the basic issue of raising tourist traffic in Agra, which they claim, will bring more revenue than the toll-tax.