Chandigarh [India], August 3 : Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala on Sunday attacked the BJP-led Haryana government, accusing it of burdening the public by sharply increasing circle rates.
Addressing the press conference in Chandigarh, he questioned Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini over what he called an 'unjustified' hike without consulting the people.
He alleged the state government has increased the circle rates twice in just eight months, causing prices of construction materials like sand, gravel, and steel to go up. "This has led to an increase of 50 per cent to 250 per cent in overall construction costs," he said.
He claimed the rate hike will cause a loss of Rs 5,000 crore to the public and impact around 2.5 crore people. "The BJP says they raised the rates for the benefit of farmers. Is this not a lie? Doesn't this increase inflation?" Surjewala said.
He also alleged that the real reason behind the hike is to collect revenue under the Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojana (DDJAY) project. "Their own minister admitted they plan to collect Rs 16,555 crore from this. Earlier, they collected Rs 14,000; now they are increasing it to nearly Rs 2,700," he added.
Surjewala further said the BJP had promised permanent homes for all by 2022, but housing has become so expensive that it is out of reach for most people. "Instead of homes, all we got were garbage dumps in every city," he said.