Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.
Himachal Pradesh is currently facing not only a natural disaster but also an economic one. This is the reason why neither salary nor pension has reached the accounts of over 2 lakh state government employees and pensioners on time. Not only this, the state Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and cabinet members have also announced that they will not draw their salaries and allowances for 2 months. After all, where does the state government get the funds for pensions and salaries from?
Most state governments in India have the option to generate their own funds, because state governments can levy taxes according to their own. At the same time, they also get a share of central taxes from the central government.
Himachal Pradesh crisis
In Himachal Pradesh, state government employees have not received their August salaries. Salaries and pensions have only been given to employees and pensioners of the Electricity Board. The reason for this is that the state government has a debt of over Rs 86,000 crore.
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In Himachal, the state government is spending a major part of the budget on paying salaries, pensions and loan installments. Despite this, the government is unable to credit the August salary. At the same time, employees and pensioners owe Rs 10 crore to the government.
The state government alleges that the cause is a natural disaster and non-payment of funds by the Centre. At the same time, the opposition camp says that along with the disaster, the old pension scheme, 350 units of free electricity, high loan limit, overdraft limit and operation of Rs 1,500 per month scheme for women are also being affected by the disaster. government. It is in the budget.
How do state governments win?
Before the implementation of the GST system in the country, state governments had many ways to raise funds. Now, state governments earn mainly from VAT on petrol and diesel and tax on liquor. In addition, state governments receive money from the Centre. And since Himachal is a hilly state, there is extra money available as well.
After the implementation of the GST system, state governments are receiving compensation, which was earlier for 5 years and has now stopped. This has affected the revenue of state governments. At the same time, the amount of revenue deficit grant has been reduced and is expected to reach the Himachal government only on September 5. In such a situation, the government will be able to pay the fees to its employees at the same time.
