Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced Thursday that he, his ministers, chief parliamentary secretaries and chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of boards and corporations would defer drawing their salaries and allowances for two months, citing the state’s “grim financial situation”.
The chief minister made the announcement in the assembly and also urged other members of the House to follow suit.
He said the government was making efforts to increase its revenue and reduce unproductive expenditure but it would take some time for the results to be visible.
Expressing concern over the dismal financial position of the state, Sukhu said the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) for the year 2023-24 was Rs 8,058 crore, which has been reduced by Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 6,258 crore during the current financial year.
“In 2025-26, the revenue deficit grant will be reduced by another Rs 3,000 crore to a mere Rs 3,257 crore, which will make it even tougher for us to meet our needs,” he added.
Sukhu said no grants have been released against the Rs 9,042 crore Post-Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA) from the Centre for damage to roads, bridges and infrastructure during 2023 monsoon.
He added that Rs 9,200 crore deducted from the employees under the National Pension Scheme (NPS) has also not been refunded so far by the Centre despite repeated pleas of the state government.
Further, the compensation on GST from the Centre has been stopped from June 2022, reducing the revenue by Rs 2,500-3,000 crore annually, the chief minister said, adding that the state’s borrowing limit has also been scaled down by Rs 2,000 crore after the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
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