LoP questions CM’s claim of making HP self-reliant by 2027

Shimla: As Himachal Pradesh is projected to touch a debt of Rs 1.04 lakh crore in the FY 2025-26, the leader of opposition, Jai Ram Thakur, on Tuesday asked chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to unveil the "magic wand" through which would be able to fulfil his claim of making the state ‘atmanirbhar (self-reliant)' by 2027.
He said the govt was hardly left with 24% of revenue for capital expenditure and other development works.
Speaking in the assembly during the budget discussion, the former CM said there was nothing to support in the state budget, presented by Sukhu on Monday, making a record of announcements when nothing was done on the ground.
Due to poor fiscal health, nothing has been even done with regard to several schemes announced in the last budget, said Thakur. The factual situation can be gauged through the fact that the total outlay of the budget for FY 2025-26 is Rs 58,514 crore, which is just Rs 71 crore more than the previous year's budget of Rs 58,443 crore.
The BJP leader pointed out that though the chief minister made various announcements in the agriculture sector on Monday, the fact remained that the budget for the agriculture sector was reduced by 39% from Rs 1,009 crore in FY 2024-25 to Rs 619 crore in FY 2025-26.
Citing examples of the budget cut in various departments like Jal Shakti and transport, Thakur said many of these departments were with deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri.
Naming a few schemes, the leader of opposition emphasised that the Congress govt had spent more on hoardings and advertisements than the actual budget allocation for those schemes.
Thakur reminded that Sukhu had blamed the previous BJP govt for taking loans and also accused the Narendra Modi-led central govt of not providing funds, but when the BJP govt had come to power in the state in 2017, the outgoing Congress govt did not provide them a no-dues certificate either.
He claimed that the present Congress govt had taken more loans in its two-year tenure than the previous BJP govt's five-year term. The senior leader said gimmicks and drama would not help as the Congress dispensation had entered its third year.
Responding to Thakur, the CM said the Congress govt had to depend on loans as the revenue deficit grant was reduced by the Centre from Rs 10,949 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 3,257 crore in 2025-26. Otherwise, the state govt could have increased the budget by Rs 3,000 crore, he said.
Sukhu said the previous BJP govt also had the support of Rs 3,200 crore per year Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation from the Centre for five years and it distributed "rewaris (freebies)" to win the 2022 assembly polls. The GST compensation, however, was stopped in June 2022.
Also, he said, the previous BJP govt had the borrowing limit of 4.5% of the gross state domestic product (GSDP), but the present govt got only a 3.5% limit. Sukhu also reiterated his stand of making Himachal Pradesh atmanirbhar by 2027 and the richest state in the country by 2032.
Import of infected apple plants
Horticulture minister Jagat Singh Negi on Tuesday expressed his concern about the state's dependence on imported plants as Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, failed in developing indigenous high-yielding and disease-resistant apple plants.
Replying to a question by Congress legislator from Theog, Kuldeep Singh Rathore, on infected apple plants being illegally imported into the state, the minister said various checks were being made to stop infected plants from entering the state and 25 containers with over two lakh non-quarantine apple plants were destroyed in 2023 and four such containers were caught in 2024.
He said strict action was being taken to ensure that the imported plants were quarantined for a specific period before entering the state orchards.
Negi also informed the House that the state govt recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Griva – an Italian company – for the production of 50,000 feather apple plants at Bajaura nursery in Kullu district.
The state horticulturists will be provided with an apple plant for nearly Rs 450 against the existing price of nearly Rs 700 from the open market, he said.
Rathore also raised concern over the high cost of imported rootstocks even as BJP MLA from Chopal, Balbir Singh Verma, pointed out that Rs 1,000 crore from Himachal was going to Italy for the import of apple rootstocks.
The minister, responding to the legislators, said apple plants were also being imported from Holland and China.
Bhindranwale photo, flags
The leader of opposition, Jai Ram Thakur, also attracted the attention of the House towards the bikers from Punjab coming to Himachal with late militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's flags and entering into altercation with the locals.
He pointed out that an unfortunate incident happened recently when a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus from Manali was stopped in Punjab and Bhindranwale's photo was put on it. Thakur sought action in such cases.
CM Sukhu said some mischievous people indulged in such activities and he would take up the issue with his Punjab counterpart to find a solution.
Dearness allowance
Sukhu, in response to a question by BJP MLA from Una, Satpal Singh Satti, informed the House that there was a delay in the payment of three instalments of the dearness allowance (DA) totaling 11% to the govt employees due to the poor financial condition of the state. These include 4% DA from July 1, 2023, 4% from January 1, 2024, and 3% from July 1, 2024.
Sukhu said it was also true that the govt had not yet paid the arrears of DA due on July 1, 2022, and Jan 1, 2023. As soon as the financial condition of the state improves, the dues of DA will be paid, he added.
452 stone crushers in Himachal
There are a total of 452 stone crushers in the state out of which 341 are currently functional, informed industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan in response to a question by BJP MLA from Sundernagar, Rakesh Jamwal.
The minister informed that in the last two years of the Congress regime, a total of 44 stone crushers had been started in the state.
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