Having a public commitment to fulfil 10 poll guarantees in the state facing a tight fiscal situation and having an inelastic resource base, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu’s one year in office is marked by challenges yet there have been some new beginnings, which he describes as “Vyavastha Parivartan” (change in the system of governance).
The biggest change is the shift from populist policies to tough measures to raise the state’s resources―a resolve requiring a strong political will, and a roadmap to the state’s fiscal stability.
The decision of the state government to levy water cess on hydropower projects in the state was shot down by the Union government describing it as “unconstitutional”. But this was a move to create a mechanism to generate income from an untapped natural resource, between Rs 1,800 crore and Rs 2,000 crore per annum.
“When states like Uttarakhand and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) have already implemented such measures, how can the Union government impose restrictions on us? Some private sector power producers have already fallen in line and agreed to pay cess,” says chief minister Sukhu.
His aim is to raise an additional income of Rs 1,100-1,500 crore in the current fiscal year through VAT, water cess and other resources to ensure that the state becomes financially stable in the next four years.
On poll guarantees, Sukhu says three guarantees, including the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) benefitting 1.36 lakh government employees, have been fulfilled while the process to grant Rs 1,500 monthly to women is already underway in the high altitude tribal district, Lahaul-Spiti.
Furthermore, a start-up scheme has been initiated for the unemployed in the state, with the government providing a platform for unemployed youth to purchase e-taxis under the Rs 680 crore start-up programme. This has a twin purpose of making Himachal Pradesh a green state as well as generating employment opportunities for the youth within the government departments.
The biggest challenge that came in the way last year was related to the unprecedented monsoon fury leaving more than 500 people dead and resulting in the loss of Rs 1,200 crore to private and public properties.
With the Union government not providing any special package for the relief and rehabilitation for the affected people in the state, the state government took it upon itself to grant a relief package worth Rs 4,500 crore for the families hit by the relentless rain, cloudburst and floods. The relief manual was revised to grant a higher compensation and financial assistance up to Rs 7 lakhs to each of the 3,500 houses damaged during the natural calamities.
This helped the government to reach out to almost every single affected family which lost everything in the monsoon fury. The restoration of infrastructure immediately after the calamities, evacuation of 75,000 tourists stranded after the torrential rains and disruption of highways were some of the measures the state government took to bring relief to the state’s residents.
The Congress returned to power in 2022 by winning 40 of the 68 assembly segments on the promise of 10 public guarantees, of which restoration of the OPS and promises like five lakh jobs (one lakh in the first year), 300 units of free electricity and Rs 1,500 monthly allowance for women had turned the tables on the BJP despite its slogan of “double engine” growth.
However, the BJP, the main opposition party, says that not even a single guarantee has been fulfilled by the government during the past one year, as poll promises to provide one lakh jobs each year and a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 to women still remains an illusion, beside a milk procurement scheme and buying cow dung (gobar) from rural families or 300 units of free power.
“Had the natural calamities not affected the state, we could have rolled out more benefits to strengthen the rural economy. Yet, we are well ahead to create infrastructure for milk procurement. Two other schemes to facilitate the setting up of solar-powered units by unemployed youth with a 50 per cent subsidy and e-taxis will make a huge difference,” says Sukhu.
The state government inherited a legacy debt burden of Rs 70,000 crore, which is another reason to roll out new employment generation schemes through initiatives on welfare, including a scheme for destitute children and free higher education for children of widows.
“The state government is resorting to fiscal discipline and has enhanced its resources by Rs 1,100 crore so far. The state exchequer is assured of Rs 500 crore from the improved auction of liquor contracts this time,” says the chief minister.
Among new initiatives, the move to push reforms in the power sector and make Himachal Pradesh a Green Energy State by March 31, 2026, by introducing electric vehicles, creating green corridors and promoting solar energy have put the state on development track, yet taking up these initiatives on the ground without financial resources could be a big test at a time when the BJP has already hit the streets to highlight the Congress’ failures on its 10 guarantees, lack of effective governance and misplaced priorities on development.
“The governance is in complete shambles; not a single guarantee has been fulfilled by the government. Rather, there is no intention to fulfil its promises. Hundreds of public service institutions have been closed. The promise to give Rs 1,500 monthly to women or one lakh jobs to unemployed youth have left women and youth cheated,” says former chief minister, Jairam Thakur.
With the BJP on a winning spree in the recently-concluded assembly elections, the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2024 will be Sukhu’s first test, even as the BJP will not spare any effort to create a strong narrative against the Congress’ style of public deliveries on guarantees and its challenges on the fiscal front.
