Salaries, pensions delayed for first time: Himachal LoP Jai Ram Thakur
Leader of Opposition (LoP) and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the state was reeling under a deep financial crisis and it was for the first time that the salaries and pensions of the employees were delayed.
Addressing mediapersons after participating in the meeting held for the membership drive of BJP here today, he said, “The salaries were paid on the 5th of this month instead of the 1st and that too from the revenue deficit grant of Rs 550 crore received from the Centre. The government is stating it will pay pensions by the 10th from the state’s share of Central taxes of approximately Rs 700 crore, which is to be provided by the Centre. Outsourced employees have not been paid for around six months.”
The LoP said, “Even during two years of Covid period, when revenue receipt was very low, the BJP government in the state had ensured that the salaries and pensions were not delayed.”
He alleged that the present government had availed more loans in 20 months of its tenure than what the previous BJP government had done in five years. He further alleged that the credit to take the state to the debt burden of over Rs 1 lakh crore by December will also go to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. He said that the present financial condition was very worrying and it is expected to worsen further in the coming times.
The leader said in the membership drive going on since September 2, a target to make 16 lakh primary members has been earmarked for Himachal while there is a target to make 10 crore members nationwide. District BJP president Arvind Chandel said that this time the membership process was being done through the digital medium.
