Hike in collector rates in Haryana arbitrary: Randeep Singh Surjewala

Accusing the BJP government of pushing the state into a ‘hole of poverty’, Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala has described the hike in collector rates as arbitrary.

Interacting with mediapersons here today, he claimed the hike had been made twice in just eight months without public consultation, logical reasoning, or defined parameters — a proof of the government’s dictatorship, economic mismanagement and incompetence.

Surjewala alleged that the sudden hike in collector rates pointed towards a nexus between the government and builders.

“This rate hike gives the builders an excuse to raise prices on their ongoing projects and exploit the public, as ultimately, it is the flat buyers who bear the brunt of the increased costs,” he claimed.

Surjewala accused the government of burdening the middle class, salaried citizens, and urban poor with an unjustified Rs 5,000 crore increase.

He questioned the timing, frequency and transparency of the hike, pointing out that rates were raised twice in just eight months. He also challenged the claim that the hike benefits farmers, calling it misleading.

“What is the logic, criteria, or basis for these hikes? Punjab amended the Punjab Stamp Rules, 1983 (Rule 3A), mandating a scientific, committee-led process for rate revisions. Why doesn’t Haryana follow a similar transparent system,?” Surjewala questioned.