People in Haryana already reeling under high cost of fuel, now toll rates also hiked, says Hooda

Chandigarh, Jul 16 (PTI) Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said that people in Haryana were already reeling under the high cost of fuel and now they have to bear increased toll rates too. The Leader of the Opposition in Haryana and former chief minister alleged that the BJP government in the state is continuously looting the public in the name of tolls. Recently, there has been a hike in rates at toll plazas in Karnal, Kurukshetra, Hisar, Panipat and Jhajjar, Hooda said in a statement here. "On one hand, motorists are already reeling under the burden of exorbitant taxes and the high cost of fuel. To make matters worse, the government has added to the burden on people by raising toll rates for cars, jeeps and other commercial vehicles by up to Rs 30. "Rates have been hiked for the second time in three months at all toll plazas, including the Thana toll plaza on the Hisar-Chandigarh National Highway. Similarly, at the Ramayan toll plaza in Hisar, rates for cars, buses, trucks and commercial vehicles have been increased by amounts ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 30," Hooda said, adding that in effect, travelling both within and outside Haryana has become more expensive. He claimed that the people of Haryana are being subjected to the highest toll collection in the country. "The situation is such that more toll is being collected in Haryana than in Gujarat, a state three times its size. While Gujarat has 62 toll plazas, Haryana has a much higher number, 75, where people are being fleeced," he alleged. Hooda said Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha that toll collection in Gujarat decreased by Rs 1,928.57 crore in October 2025, compared to 2024, whereas in Haryana, it increased by Rs 368.57 crore during the same period. Haryana records the highest per capita toll collection at Rs 917.1, the highest in the country, he added. The Congress leader said the annual toll collection per kilometre in Haryana stands at Rs 0.69 crore, which is the highest in the country. Moreover, he said, the minimum distance between two toll plazas on a national highway is required to be 60 kilometres, as stipulated by the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. However, in Haryana, the distance between two toll plazas is merely 45 kilometres, the shortest in the country, he added. "The toll collections in Haryana have risen from Rs 461.88 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 2,324.95 crore in 2025-26 -- an increase of more than five-fold, according to data presented in Parliament," he said. PTI SUN KSS KSS