Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 31: Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu announced on Friday that the Himachal Pradesh government has secured ₹21,366 crore in loans over the past 20 months and has repaid ₹5,856 crore.
In a written response to BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma, CM Sukhu detailed that the net amount borrowed by the government is ₹15,502 crore. He explained that loans totaling ₹6,897 crore were raised from December 15, 2022, to March 31, 2023, ₹10,521 crore during 2023-24, and ₹3,948 crore between April 1, 2024, and July 31, 2024.
The repayments included ₹1,097 crore in 2022-23, ₹3,481 crore in 2023-24, and ₹1,286 crore in 2024-25, resulting in a net borrowing figure of ₹15,502 crore.
The net borrowing was ₹5,800 crore in the last three and a half months of 2022-23, ₹7,040 crore in 2023-24, and ₹2,662 crore in 2024-25.
Earlier, during the Assembly session on Thursday, CM Sukhu highlighted the state's poor financial condition. He noted that the Revenue Deficit Grant has decreased from ₹8,058 crore to ₹6,258 crore, with a further reduction expected to ₹3,257 crore in 2025-26.
CM Sukhu also pointed out that the central government has not allocated any funds from the ₹9,042 crore PDNA, and the NPS contributions from PFRDA have not been received. Additionally, GST compensation has been halted since 2022, which has resulted in a reduction of approximately ₹2,500-3,000 crore for the state. He mentioned that the shift to OPS has also reduced the state's borrowing capacity by around ₹2,000 crore.
Criticizing the previous BJP state government, CM Sukhu said, "The current financial issues are largely due to the previous BJP government, which received approximately ₹10,000 crore from the Revenue Deficit Grant according to the 15th Finance Commission. Since then, this grant has been declining."
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