Himachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister Appeals to the Centre for a Massive Rs 8,000 Crore Financial Lifeline

New Delhi, September 9 – The hills of Himachal Pradesh may look tranquil, but the state’s finance ministry is anything but calm. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu travelled to the capital on Tuesday and sat down with Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lay out a rather stark picture.

According to the CM, the removal of the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) from the 2026‑27 budget – a decision that follows the 16th Finance Commission’s recommendations – will create an annual shortfall of roughly Rs 8,000 crore. “We have been watching the RDG shrink year after year, and the final cut is pushing us into a serious fiscal hole,” he said.

Sukhu reminded the minister that Himachal’s mountainous terrain isn’t just a postcard‑perfect backdrop. It makes building roads, schools and hospitals a lot pricier, and natural disasters like landslides can wipe out months of work in a flash. “Our costs are higher, our revenues lower, and the risk of loss is ever‑present,” he explained.

Despite these headwinds, the state government says it has been trying to tighten its own belt. It has rolled out a series of revenue‑generation reforms and even became the first Indian state to guarantee a Minimum Support Price for crops grown under natural‑farming practices – an effort aimed at boosting farmers’ incomes and, indirectly, the rural economy.

Still, the CM argued, “we need a hand” from the centre. He put forward a handful of specific asks: an exemption from the supply‑and‑vendor payment rules under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme, a doubling of funds earmarked for Externally Aided Projects (EAPs), and an increase in Himachal’s borrowing ceiling from the current 3 % of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to 4 %.

“A modest uplift in borrowing power would give us the fiscal space to meet existing obligations while still investing in the critical infrastructure that our people need,” Sukhu said, adding that these measures would help the state tackle both everyday service delivery and long‑term development goals.

Minister Sitharaman listened and, according to the official press release, pledged to “consider the demands sympathetically.” She assured that the centre would review the request for additional Special Central Assistance and that the state’s unique challenges would be taken into account when any further support is decided.

The meeting underscored a familiar theme in Indian federal politics – the delicate balancing act between central resource allocation and the uneven financial realities of states, especially those like Himachal where geography adds a costly layer to governance.

As the dialogue continues, Himachal Pradesh’s leadership hopes the centre will extend the much‑needed lifeline, enabling the state to keep its promises to citizens without sinking deeper into fiscal distress.