Since 2007, Indian Railways has not paid the pilgrim tax to the lodging house committee, the body constituted for providing facilities to the pilgrims arriving in Gaya for pinddaan at the Vishnupad temple.

Repeated reminders by Gaya district magistrate-cum-lodging house committee (LHC) secretaries since July 2008 have failed to draw the amount due from the Indian Railways. The last payment that the railways has made to the LHC as terminal or pilgrim tax was for October-December 2005 quarter worth Rs 43,915. The payment was received in the LHC office in April 2007.

During the 17-day-long Pitripaksh Mela, the Indian Railways impose extra money on booking or purchase of every railway ticket from Gaya railway station. This year, Rs 20 will be charged on booking of first-class air-conditioned tickets, Rs 15 on 2nd-class AC and other AC classes, Rs 10 on AC chair car, Rs 5 on sleeper and general tickets. Last year, too, the amount was the same.

However, when the payment was stopped, then Gaya district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Singh shot a letter to the railways to send all the pending pilgrim tax cheques to the LHC. In his letter, Singh said LHC receives pilgrim tax quarterly and the last cheque was received in April 2007.

Now, the present district magistrate-cum-LHC chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, too, has raised the issue with the railway officials during a meeting to review the preparations for the Pitripaksh Mela beginning September 8.

LHC sources said information has been sought from the east-central railways, Hajipur, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act that under what circumstances pilgrim tax is not being paid. A reply to the RTE application is awaited.

Sources added that the office concerned of the railways in Calcutta said all documents related to the pilgrim tax have been transferred to the ECR-Hajipur. There is no communication from the ECR-Hajipur to the LHC office under which circumstances the payment has been stopped.

ECR-Hajipur chief public relations officer Arvind Kumar Razak said the railways imposes Mela surcharge on booking or purchase of railway tickets at places across the country where fairs are organised to meet its extra-internal expenditure on Mela. “Surcharge is imposed during Kumbh Mela and Sonepur Mela. There is no question of payment of pilgrim tax to the LHC. The state should separately impose tax towards this. If they want it to be added to the ticket fare, they should talk to the authority in the railway board or zone,” the CPRO said.