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Himachal CM, ministers to defer drawing pay for two months amid financial crisis
The Himachal CM 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
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday announced 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 CM 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, Sukhu said the revenue deficit grant for 2023-24 was ₹8,058 crore, which has been reduced by ₹1,800 crore to ₹6,258 crore during the current financial year.
“In 2025-26, the revenue deficit grant will be reduced by another ₹3,000 crore to a mere ₹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 ₹9,042 crore Post-Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA) from the Centre for damage to roads, bridges and infrastructure during the 2023 monsoon. Further, he said, the compensation on GST from the Centre has been stopped from June 2022 and that the state’s borrowing limit has also been scaled down by ₹2,000 crore.
