Taj revenue tops Rs 200 cr in 3 years, Rs 13.37 cr spent for conservation

AGRA: The monument of love, Taj Mahal, one of the world’s most exquisite landmarks and among the most visited monuments, has earned over Rs 200 crore through ticket sales during the last three years and the government has spent Rs 13.36 crore for its conservation and maintenance.
The number of visitors to Taj Mahal has also witnessed a steady rise despite the increase in ticket price.Nearly 2 crore tourists - including foreigners - visited during this period. The latest figures were given by minister of state (independent charge) for culture and tourism Prahalad Patel, in a written reply in Lok Sabha recently.
While the entry fee of the monument was hiked on August 8 last year from Rs 40 to 50 for Indian tourists and Rs 1,000 to 1,100 for foreign tourists, a separate ticket of Rs 200 for entry into the main mausoleum of Taj Mahal was introduced on December 10, 2018.
According to minister's reply, Rs 55.09 crore was earned in 2016-17, Rs 58.76 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 86.48 crore in 2018-19. However, only Rs 4.50 crore was spent on its conservation in 2016-17, Rs 3.38 crore in 2017-18, and Rs 5.48 crore in the last financial year 2018-19.
ASI officials told TOI that out of Rs 5.48 crore, almost Rs 2.5 crore was spent on infrastructure development in April 2018 while turnstile gates were installed at the monument gates.
Latest figures given by the minister reveal that in 2016-17, around 61.77 lakh tourists visited the monument, 65.65 lakh visited in the year 2017-18 and 70.90 lakh in the last financial year 2018-19.
Talking to TOI, superintending archeologist, ASI (Agra circle), Vasant K Swarankar, said that it's a proud feeling to see the increasing number of tourists every year. He said, “Our efforts are to continuously provide better facilities to the visitors to increase the number of tourists to the world heritage site”.
He said, 28 drinking water fountains have been installed at Taj Mahal so far and four are in the process of installation for providing better services. Earlier, an exclusive air conditioned baby feeding room for mothers visiting the iconic Taj Mahal was set up. Besides, QR code standees have been installed at East and West gates of the monument for buying entry tickets by scanning the codes for the convenience to tourists visiting the Taj Mahal.
Regarding the amount spent on conservation, Swarankar said that the money was spent on maintenance and conservation as per the requirement.