The financial condition of Himachal Pradesh is deteriorating. The debt burden on the state has gone up to more than 90 thousand crore rupees. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is taking tough decisions to improve the deteriorating financial condition of the state. In this series, Chief Minister Sukhu has decided to not take (delay) his salary and allowances for the next two months along with ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries. Along with this, MLAs of the ruling party and the opposition have also been requested to voluntarily give up their salaries and allowances and help the state in this crisis. The Chief Minister has announced this in the House during the monsoon session of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He read a statement regarding this in the House on Thursday.
Chief Minister Sukhu said that the state is also facing a huge revenue shortfall due to the discontinuation of GST compensation after June 2022. Due to this, the state is suffering an economic loss of about Rs 2,500-3,000 crore annually. Reading a statement in the House, he said that the restoration of the old pension scheme has also reduced the state’s borrowing capacity by about Rs 2,000 crore. It is not easy to overcome these circumstances. The state government is making efforts to increase revenue and reduce unproductive expenditure. But it will take time for the results of these efforts to come.
Chief Minister Sukhu said that the revenue deficit grant was Rs 8,058 crore in the year 2023-24, which has been reduced to Rs 6,258 crore this year. That is, there has been a reduction of Rs 1,800 crore. In the next year (2025-26), this grant is expected to decrease by another Rs 3,000 crore, which will reduce it to only Rs 3,257 crore. Sukhu also mentioned the assessment of post-disaster needs. Under which the state needs Rs 9,042 crore, but no funds have been received from the central government yet. Apart from this, a contribution of about Rs 9,200 crore under the National Pension System is yet to be received from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. He said that Himachal has a debt of more than 90 thousand crores. In which 9 thousand crores are the liabilities of the employees.
Jairam Thakur raised questions on the intentions of Sukhu government
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur has questioned the Sukhu government’s intention to waive salary allowances. He said that in the announcement, it has been decided not to waive salary allowances but to defer them. It would have been better if the Chief Minister had reduced wasteful expenditure by removing the army of CPS, Cabinet rank and corporations and boards. He alleged that the Congress government has left no stone unturned in worsening the financial condition of the state.
Report: UK Sharma
