Government earns 190 crore in 2 years from Entrance Fee at Monuments

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) manages 116 monuments in 19 different states. Revenue from entrance fee is collected by ASI and remitted to the consolidated fund of India. As per government data, a total of 190.23 crore was collected in entrance fee in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The highest collection was from Taj Mahal with 43.1 crore. Hampi recorded a drop in revenue of 75% in 2014-15 compared to 2013-14.

Apart from the indirect revenue that tourism brings to the country, Government earns direct revenues through various means including entrance fee at various monuments managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Government data indicates that a total of 190.23 crore was collected in 2013-14 and 2014-15, through entrance fee at 116 different monuments managed by the ASI. The revenue in 2013-14 was 96.85 crore while it reduced marginally to 93.38 crore in 2014-15.

ASI Manages 116 Monuments in 19 States

The ASI currently manages 116 different monuments in 19 different states. All these monuments have a ticketed entry and the fee collected is remitted to the consolidated fund of India. Out of the 116 monuments, there are 16 monuments each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 12 from Karnataka, 10 from Delhi and 9 from Madhya Pradesh. Apart from these, various state governments have sent 22 proposals for various monuments to be given central protection. These proposals are at various stages of consideration. These include birth places of Dr. B R Ambedkar and Madan Mohan Malviya.

Uttar Pradesh & Delhi account for 69% of all the Revenue

While Uttar Pradesh & Delhi account for only 23% of all the monuments managed by ASI, they account for 69% of the total entrance fee collected in the two years of 2013-14 and 2014-15. Out of the 190.23 crores collected in both the years, UP alone accounted for 83.5 crore followed by Delhi with 48.15 crore. Maharashtra was third with 13.94 crore and Karnataka with 13.28 crore was fourth. None of the other states could contribute revenue of more than 10 crore. 12 of the 19 states contributed revenue of more than 1 crore each, while the rest of the 7 states contributed less than a crore each. In terms of the average revenue Uttar Pradesh and Delhi are followed by Telangana in the third place. With only 3 such monuments, revenue from Telangana was 3.85 crore for these 2 years.

Taj Mahal on the Top

As expected, Taj Mahal collected the most revenue in entrance fee with 43.06 crore in these two years followed by the Agra Fort with 20.8 crore. The next three places went to monuments from Delhi. Qutb Minar (20.44 crore), Humayun’s Tomb (13.47 crore) and Red Fort (12.04 crore) were in the top five. The other monuments in the top ten were Fatehpur Sikri, World Heritage Site in Hampi, Monuments in Mahabalipuram, Sun temple in Konark and the group of temples in Khajuraho.

Hampi saw 75% drop in Revenue in 2014-15

The marginal drop of 3.46 crore in entrance fee revenue in 2014-15 was largely because of the 75% drop in ticket revenue from Hampi. In Hampi, the revenue dropped from 5.82 crore in 2013-14 to 1.47 crore in 2014-15.

Revenue increased in 2014-15 compared to 2013-14 for 80 of the 116 monuments while it dropped for 36 other monuments. Revenue dropped by more than 10 lakh for 5 monuments including Taj Mahal where it dropped by 59.2 lakh. Fatehpur Sikri on the other hand recorded the highest increase in revenue with 69.4 lakh increase followed by the Agra Fort. Revenue increased by more than 10 lakh for eight monuments.

Featured Image: [By Yann], [CC BY-SA 4.0]