Himachal Pradesh News
Union Budget 2026 : Himachal Pradesh set to lose Rs 50,000 crore grant; Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu terms Centre’s move a ‘black day’
Calling Sunday a “black day” in Himachal Pradesh’s history, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday said the Centre’s decision to discontinue the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) for special-category hill states would deal a severe blow to the state’s finances.
Calling Sunday a “black day” in Himachal Pradesh’s history, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday said the Centre’s decision to discontinue the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) for special-category hill states would deal a severe blow to the state’s finances.
Terming the move “blatant injustice”, Sukhu said the 16th Finance Commission had scrapped the RDG, a key financial lifeline for hill states like Himachal. “It is a massive blow to the people of Himachal. They are deeply hurt,” he said.
The Chief Minister added that the issue would be discussed in the Cabinet and all options, including legal recourse, would be explored to safeguard the state’s interests.
Sukhu said Himachal Pradesh had received nearly Rs 48,000 crore under the Revenue Deficit Grant during the five-year tenure of the 15th Finance Commission and was expecting around Rs 50,000 crore in the upcoming cycle.
“I met the Finance Commission and the Finance Minister several times and requested that the RDG be spread uniformly over five years. I had no indication that it would be stopped altogether,” he said.
He further stated that the Centre had also rejected the state government’s demand to enhance its borrowing limit from three per cent to four per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), which would have provided additional fiscal flexibility.
