Himachal Pradesh Cabinet to forgo salary for two months to tide over financial crunch

Shimla, Aug 29 (IANS) Setting a trend, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday informed the Assembly that the Cabinet, comprising chief parliamentary secretaries and chairmen and vice-chairmen of boards and corporations, would forgo salary and allowances for two months to tide over the grave financial crunch. 

In a statement in the House, CM Sukhu said: "I urge all the members of the Assembly to voluntarily take a similar decision."

"Efforts are being made to increase revenue and reduce wasteful expenditure, though results will take time to become visible," he said.

Expressing concern over the financial condition, the Chief Minister said the revenue deficit grant for 2023-24 was Rs 8,058 crore, which has been reduced by Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 6,258 crore this fiscal.

"In 2025-26, the revenue deficit grant will be reduced by another Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 3,257 crore, which will make it even tougher for us to meet our needs," he stated.

Expressing concern over the "delay" in getting central funds for last year's natural calamity that claimed more than 700 lives and massively damaged public and private property, the Chief Minister said the state "is still awaiting Rs 9,042 crore grant under the Post Disaster Need Assessment from the Centre for the damages suffered to bridges and other infrastructure during the monsoon of 2023".

On facing financial challenges after reverting to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for all government employees, covered under the defined contributory pension scheme or National Pension System (NPS), CM Sukhu said, "Despite repeated pleas, the Centre has also not provided Rs 9,200 crore lying with it as part of the new pension scheme deduction."

"We have also stopped getting GST compensation from the Centre which has reduced our revenue by almost Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000 crore annually," he explained.

CM Sukhu, who also holds the finance portfolio, said after the restoration of the old pension scheme (OPS), the loan borrowing limit has been reduced by Rs 2,000 crore.

Officials told IANS the hill state, whose economy largely banks on tourism, horticulture and hydropower, has accumulated a whopping debt of Rs 75,000 crore when it assumed office in December 2022 with the ever-swelling wages and liability of about Rs 11,000 crore on account of arrears of salaries of employees and pensioners and dearness allowance from the previous government.