CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
Shimla, June 24: The Himachal Pradesh government held a special meeting with the 16th Finance Commission at the State Guest House Peterhoff on Monday with the thirteen-member team of the 16th Finance Commission regarding revenue supplies and other serious development projects of Himachal Pradesh.It is worth noting that the thirteen-member team of the 16th Finance Commission has been on a three-day visit to Himachal Pradesh since last Sunday, and will listen to all the matters and put its final seal on the revenue to be received by Himachal Pradesh for five years from the coming year 2026.
Honourable Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu along with the 13-member team of the 16th Finance Commission called for an increase in revenue for the development projects of Himachal Pradesh and demanded from the 16th Finance Commission to provide the supply of standard revenue increase on the lines of other big states to bring the Ganga of development in the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh with difficult geographical conditions.
CM Sukhu called for financial assistance to connect the families residing in the areas falling within the state’s borders with the mainstream of society under the important matter of security of Himachal Pradesh, and asked for cooperation in exploring development and employment possibilities in the border areas.
The CM said that the heartbreaking natural disaster that occurred during the monsoon in Himachal Pradesh causes huge losses, but due to lack of revenue, Himachal Pradesh gets drowned in the management and relief work of natural disaster, hence revenue must be increased.
The CM said that Himachal Pradesh is taking necessary steps to maintain the green cover of the Himalayan region. The result of which is that the state is suffering a loss of revenue worth thousands of crores, but Himachal Pradesh is not being compensated for the revenue loss.
The CM said that the Himachal Pradesh government has imposed a complete ban on cutting of trees, due to which Himachal Pradesh is suffering a revenue loss of thousands of crores of rupees. Himachal Pradesh has not been granted any permission under the Forest Clearance Act since the year 2017.
The CM said that Himachal Pradesh has given lakhs of acres of land for Bhakra Dam and Pong Dam and water is also being provided to Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan for irrigation.
Along with this, the Himachal Pradesh government is also ensuring uninterrupted power supply to various industrial institutions of the state. The CM said that the Himachal Pradesh government has not received any revenue for all this and the Himachal Pradesh government is not being given ownership rights even after the completion of the lease period of the Shanan Hydroelectric Project.
CM Sukhu said that the present Himachal Pradesh government has taken important steps like closing down unnecessary institutions to bring the economy of Himachal Pradesh back on track.
Apart from this, in his address, the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, Dr. Arvind Panagariya, praised the steps being taken by the Himachal Pradesh Government mainly in the field of education and health.
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During this, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Agriculture Minister Prof. Chander Kumar, Industry Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan, Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, Town Planning Minister Rajesh Dharmani and AYUSH Minister Yadavindra Goma also apprised the members of the 16th Finance Commission about important issues and Principal Secretary Finance Devesh Kumar shared all the important information of the state with the members of the Finance Commission.
CM Sukhu said that Himachal Pradesh has become a manufacturing hub for pharmaceuticals, textiles, light engineering, goods, health, power, telecommunications, information technology and other sectors.
The CM said that the exports of Himachal Pradesh from the year 2019-20 have increased from Rs 9,822.08 crore to Rs 17,543.49 crore in the year 2022-23, registering an increase of 62 percent. In which pharmaceuticals and textiles have registered the highest growth, that is why pharmaceuticals and textiles contribute 80 percent of the total exports of Himachal Pradesh.
The CM said that significant efforts have been made by the Himachal Pradesh government to make it an investment friendly state, under which the Government of India has given preference to Himachal Pradesh in important awards.
The CM said that Himachal Pradesh ranks 15th among all 29 states and second among the Himalayan states in the field of exports.
Exim Bank Managing Director Harsha Bagnani, in her presentation, assured the Himachal Pradesh government of cooperation in financing in various sectors.
Members of the 16th Finance Commission Ajay Narayan Jha, Annie George Mathew, Dr. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Dr. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Secretary Ritwik Panda, Agriculture Minister of Himachal Pradesh Government Prof. Chander Kumar, Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, Town Planning Minister Rajesh Dharmani, AYUSH Minister Yadavindra Goma, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, Principal Private Secretary to Chief Minister and Education Secretary Rakesh Kanwar and other senior officers of Himachal Pradesh Government were present on the occasion.
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