Ex-CM Hooda gets reprieve as Haryana Cabinet waives Rs 27.18 lakh rent penalty

Hooda has been residing in the government bungalow at House No. 70, Sector 7, which is meant for the Leader of the Opposition, since the results of the Assembly elections were declared in October 2024, though he was appointed to the post in September 2025. The penal rent had remained outstanding for nearly a year. During the intervening period, he was entitled to only a flat.

When asked at a press conference whether he had sought a waiver, Hooda said, “Let them not do it… It is a non-issue.”

Speaking to The Tribune, Haryana Public Works (Buildings and Roads) Minister Ranbir Gangwa said, “The Leader of Opposition (LoP) has Cabinet rank. He doesn’t have to pay rent, power or water charges. The penal rent applies to the period when he had not been appointed to the post of LoP. It is calculated at 150 times the actual rent.”

Meanwhile, the Haryana Cabinet also waived penal rent amounting to over Rs 38 lakh due from former Haryana Housing Board chairman Rajdeep Singh for overstaying in a government residence in Sector 12-A, Panchkula. Singh, a former MLA from Charkhi Dadri, was appointed chairman under the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) quota. At the time, the JJP was allied with the BJP.