Himachal CM, ministers to forgo salary for 2 months

Tribune News Service

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Shimla, August 29

In view of the grave financial crisis being faced by the Himachal Pradesh Government, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday announced that he along with all ministers, chief parliamentary secretaries and chairmen and vice-chairmen of boards and corporations would not take any salary and allowances for a period of two months.

Making a statement in the Vidhan Sabha today, 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 unproductive expenditure, though it will take some time for the results to become visible, he added.

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 stated.

Sukhu also lamented that Himachal is still awaiting Rs 9,042 crore grant under the Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA) from the Centre for the damages suffered to bridges and other infrastructure during the last monsoon season in 2023. “Despite repeated pleas, the Centre has also not returned Rs 9,200 crore lying with it as part of the new pension scheme (NPS) deduction. We have also stopped getting GST compensation from the Centre which has reduced our revenue by almost Rs 2,500-3,000 crore annually,” he said.

The CM said following the restoration of the old pension scheme (OPS), the loan borrowing limit too has been reduced by Rs 2,000 crore.