Himachal govt's election year freebies to cost state exchequer dearly

The state with limited financial resources has a debt of more than Rs 62,000 crores. However, in a bid to appease the people in the run-up to the state assembly elections later this year, the Jairam Thakur led BJP government has announced the freebies.

Shimla:Despite the Electricity Board and Road Transport Corporation running in loss of hundreds of crores, the Himachal Pradesh government has announced additional free power units and a 50 per cent discount for women in the debt-ridden Transport Corporation buses putting a heavy burden on the state exchequer.

The state with limited financial resources has a debt of more than 62 thousand crores. However, in a bid to appease the people in the run-up to the state assembly elections later this year, the Jairam Thakur led BJP government has announced the freebies. On Himachal Day, the government has given a 50 per cent discount on the fares for female passengers.

At the same time, the scope of 60 units of free electricity has now been increased to 125 units. Along with waiving water bills in rural areas, the Himachal government has announced to provide free drinking water. It is worth mentioning here that in the latest CAG report, the Himachal government has been repeatedly warned that the state is getting trapped in heavy debts.

Crores of rupees have to be paid only to repay the interest on the loan taken. It is said to be getting difficult to drive a car in Himachal without taking a loan. Earlier, the state governments used to argue about increasing the fares on account of the expensive petroleum products. Now the fares have been cut in spite of expensive petrol and diesel. As per the officials, the Himachal government will have to bear the burden of Rs 126 crore annually for providing free electricity. Himachal Road Transport Corporation is in loss of more than 1800 crores.

The reduction in fares for women passengers will only widen the deficit. Apart from this, there is a lot of anger among private bus operators due to this announcement by the government. Private bus operators say that the price of diesel is increasing continuously and in such a situation, private bus operators may have to face additional losses due to the government's announcement.

If the current budget of Himachal is seen, before the implementation of the new pay commission, out of every hundred rupees, 26 rupees are being spent on the salary. As per figures, Rs 15 is being spent on pension, Rs 11 on repayment of loan, Rs 10 is being spent on paying interest. Not much is left for the development works. Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation has about 3200 ordinary buses, 75 electric buses, 21 taxis and 50 electric taxis. There are more buses in the private sector than in the government. A total of 3,267 buses are running in the private sector.

Various schemes are already running in HRTC which have free travel facilities. School students also travel for free. Apart from this, free travel facility is also given to serious patients. There are about 9 schemes in which there is a provision of low fare or free travel. As for the power sector, it is at a loss of Rs 1600 crores. According to the new decision, by giving 125 units of electricity free of cost, the government will have to give a subsidy of Rs 126 crore annually to the electricity board.

Each year Rs 750 crores are spent on the nine schemes under which free or discounted travel facility is available in Himachal Road Transport Corporation. Now after the additional 25 per cent discount, this burden will be around Rs 18 crore monthly. If we look at the financial position of Himachal, then the state has to avail loans to meet its expenses. Right now the employees have been given the benefits of the new pay commission. Due to this, there has been a burden of more than 6 thousand crore rupees annually on the treasury of Himachal.

This year the annual loan limit of Himachal Pradesh can be more than 10 thousand crores. There are more than 2 lakh government employees and 2.5 lakh pensioners in the state. After the recommendations of the new Pay Commission, there will be a burden of 2 thousand crores on the pensioners. At present, 23 crore rupees will be spent on payment of arrears in the Police Pay Band in Himachal. A total of 27 crores will be spent annually on the police personnel for the salary hike. In such a situation, the Himachal government faces the challenge of raising the budget to provide free facilities.

State Transport Minister Bikram Thakur said the government can increase the grant of the Transport Corporation. According to senior journalist Hemant Kumar, the announcement made by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Himachal Day “cannot be said to be a sensible decision, considering the financial condition of Himachal”. “This is an indication in the political corridors that the BJP is intimidated by the Aam Aadmi Party from within,” Kumar said, adding it was a decision taken for political reasons.

According to Kumar, HRTC does not have enough money to pay salaries to its workers. Overtime is not paid to drivers and operators for a long time, he said. In such a situation, the debt-ridden state should not inculcate the habit of freebies. Instead, the government should have made some innovative announcements in education and health, Kumar argued. “For example, the application fee should have been abolished for the youth preparing for competitive examinations”. BJP President Suresh Kashyap said that Himachal Pradesh is a “power surplus state, so the state government has taken this decision to give relief to the people from inflation”.