Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday stated that the BJP government in Haryana is continuously looting the public in the name of tolls.
Reacting to the recent hike in rates at toll plazas in Karnal, Kurukshetra, Hisar, Panipat, and Jhajjar, the former Chief Minister stated that Haryana is witnessing the highest toll collection in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, he noted that on one hand, motorists are already reeling under the burden of exorbitant taxes and the high cost of fuel and ethanol. 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 Rs 10-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. In effect, traveling both within and outside Haryana has become more expensive,” he stated.
Hooda cited statistics to explain how 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 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 said the annual toll collection per kilometer in Haryana stands at Rs 0.69 crore, which is the highest in the country. Moreover, the minimum distance between two toll plazas on a national highway is required to be 60 kilometers, 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 kilometers—the shortest in the country.
Hooda pointed out that 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.