Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presented the state’s budget for 2023-24 on Friday, with a total outlay of Rs 53,413 crore. The Congress-led government announced several initiatives, including a women’s pension, subsidies for electric vehicles, and a cow cess on liquor, as part of their plan to become a green state by 2026.
In an effort to reduce pollution, the government aims to promote hydropower and solar energy through the adoption of electric vehicles. The state will replace 1,500 diesel buses of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation with electric buses in phases, at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. Additionally, a 50% subsidy will be given to youth for setting up charging points, while a 40% subsidy will be provided for setting up small hydropower projects of 200 kW to 2 MW.
The government will also provide a subsidy of Rs 25,000 for the purchase of electric two-wheelers to 20,000 girls studying in government schools in the state. Furthermore, the state will ensure that at least two panchayats in every district become “green panchayats.”
In its maiden budget, the government announced a cow cess of Rs 10 on the sale of each bottle of liquor, which will generate an additional revenue of Rs 100 crore per annum. The budget also included the restoration of the old pension scheme, benefiting 1.36 lakh employees, and a fixed monthly payment of Rs 1,500 for 2,31,000 women.
The government will fill about 30,000 vacant posts in various state government departments in the coming financial year. The budget also increased the MLA area development fund from Rs 2 crore to Rs 2.10 crore, while the honorarium for panchayat representatives and urban local bodies has been increased.
The state has hiked the daily wages under the central government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) from Rs 212 to Rs 240. The government also announced measures to improve healthcare facilities in the state, including upgrading casualty wards in all medical colleges to emergency medicine departments and opening nursing colleges in three medical colleges.
To boost tourism, Kangra district will be developed as the tourist capital, and all 12 districts will be connected with heliport facilities in the next one year. Sukhu also announced up to 80% subsidy to fishermen for taking up various fisheries projects.
The state’s GDP growth remained sluggish during 2022-23 and dropped to 6.4% compared to 7.6% in 2021-22. Himachal Pradesh faces a debt of Rs 75,000 crore and other liabilities on account of payment of arrears of revised pay scales and DA amounting to Rs 11,000 crore.
During his speech, Sukhu repeated his commitment to change the system and fulfill all promises made to the people during elections in a phased manner. He punctuated his speech with Hindi and Urdu couplets, highlighting the government’s determination to improve the state’s economy and quality of life for its residents.
