Himachal govt made budgetary provisions before restoring Old Pension Scheme, says CM Sukhvinder Sukhu

Shimla/Una, February 7

The Himachal Pradesh government made the necessary budgetary provisions before announcing restoration of the Old Pension Scheme, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Tuesday.

The Himachal Cabinet approved restoration of the scheme during its first meeting after careful deliberations, he said in a statement.

All other promises guaranteed by the Congress in its ‘Pratigya Patra’ ahead of the assembly elections will be fulfilled in a phased manner after making adequate financial provisions.

The chief minister also hit out at the previous BJP dispensation for allegedly failing to clear arrears of employees despite announcing implementation of the Pay Commission recommendations.

The haphazard decisions taken by the BJP government were unwanted and uncalled for, he said.

Apart from a whopping loan amount of Rs 75,000 crore, the BJP has left Rs 11,000 crore as outstanding arrears to be paid to government employees and pensioners.

The BJP regime handed over an empty coffer to the current dispensation, Sukhu said.

The state government is also concerned about ending the impasse created by the closure of two Adani Group-owned cement plants and the indefinite strike by a truck operators’ union. The government has held several rounds of talks with both the parties, the statement said.

The unions are also holding separate discussions with the company.

“I hope that the dispute will be resolved soon,” Sukhu said.