Chandigarh, Aug. 28 -- Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday announced the stamp duty waiver on the registration of residential plots up to 50 square yards in urban areas and up to 100 square yards in rural areas and houses allotted under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Mukhyamantri Shahri Awas Yojana, and Mukhyamantri Gramin Awas Yojana. Speaking in the assembly during the last sitting of the monsoon session and while responding to the calling attention notice of INLD MLAs Aditya Devilal and Arjun Chautala regarding "steep hike in the collector rates of land and plots in the state", chief minister said the Opposition was spreading doubts and false information. Making the announcement in the assembly, Saini said that the beneficiaries of all these housing schemes and holders of small residential plots would no longer be required to pay stamp duty. "The farmers are still asking the government to further increase collector rates. The revised collector rates will not have any adverse impact on seller and buyer. Between August 1 and August 20, the government has received stamp duty to the tune of Rs.723 crore," Saini said while repeatedly saying that the Opposition leaders were unsuccessfully trying to mislead the public on this issue. He said that it is wrong to say that an increase in collector rate raises the market rate of a property. In fact, it is the increase of market rate during a year that necessitates an increase in collector rate to prevent loss of revenue of the state, he added. The chief minister stated that since 2008, stamp duty has been levied at 7% (including a 2% development fee) for men and 5% for women, and these rates remain unchanged to this day. The chief minister said that the issue is not about increasing the collector rate, but about individuals who engage in land deals using black money to evade stamp duty. Saini said the revision of collector rates is a routine and transparent process, conducted annually in accordance with prevailing market prices. He pointed out that collector rates were also increased regularly during the Congress government's tenure. In a written reply tabled on the floor of the House, the state government said that the system of revising collector, circle rates every year since April 1 has been in place with the objective to check the malpractices of under valuation of property at the time of deed registration and the consequent loss of revenue to the state. These rates are increased on the basis of the average increase in rates at which properties were actually sold as per registration deeds in last year. Before 2017, the responsibility for reviewing and revising collector rates was with the deputy commissioners at the district level....