Shimla, Dec. 10 -- As the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in Himachal Pradesh approaches its three-year anniversary on December 11, 2025, the chief minister claimed that the fiscal mess left by the previous BJP government is the administration's primary challenge. The state is currently grappling with a substantial debt exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore, which overshadows the state's Rs 62,387 crore budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. In response, Sukhu has initiated reforms, termed "Vyavastha Parivartan" (system change), aimed at steering the state towards financial self-reliance by 2027, the year the next state elections are scheduled to take place. Edited excerpts. Our administration's core philosophy, rooted in "Vyvastha Parivartan" is to empower the common citizen. We came in with a resolve to fundamentally reform governance by focusing on deregulation and transparency. We reformed the land registry process where previously intekal (mutation) cases languished for years. The time-consuming processes for land demarcation and partition have been streamlined. For the first time, we reduced the number of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) posts and introduced a lateral entry system to bring in specialised expertise. Under the previous BJP government, Himachal ranked 21st in education. As a direct result of our vyvastha parivartan, Himachal has climbed to the 5th position nationally. The biggest challenge was the fiscal mess the previous state government had left for us. When Congress came to power, the state government had a debt of Rs 75,000 crore. We are spending Rs 2,200 crore every month on salaries and pensions in various departments, while the corporations and boards spend Rs 800 crore and manage their own expenses. After we implemented OPS, the central government cut our additional borrowing limit by Rs 1,600 crore, which strained our financial position. We have taken strict action against those involved in any kind of corruption. Around Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000 crore is now coming into the state treasury. We are fighting for the rights of the state and after the historic victory in court, Himachal became the sole owner of the Wildflower Hall and we managed to recover Rs 450 crore in just one year. Apart from this we secured additional annual income of over Rs 250 crore from JSW Energy's Karcham-Wangtoo hydroelectric project and other similar projects. Himachal has been witnessing disaster over the last three years and despite our limited resources and not much help coming from the Centre, we have been able to provide relief to our people. In 2023, following a major disaster that caused approximately 500 deaths and damaged 23,000 houses, a central team assessed the losses at Rs.9,300 crore. However, after two years, out of the approved amount, only Rs 451 crore has been received by Himachal. A more widespread disaster in 2025 prompted a visit from the Prime Minister and an announced special package of Rs.1,500 crore, which we have not received so far. We are committed to promoting sustainable tourism by engaging private entrepreneurs in developing tourism infrastructure without disturbing the ecological balance. We are developing infrastructure like wellness centres, ice rinks, and ropeways, alongside promoting eco-tourism via a new policy for 77 sites, expanding Kangra airport, and launching border tourism at Shipki La, all while focusing on sustainable growth, engaging private sector, and connecting religious sites like Baba Balak Nath and Chintpurni, aiming for Kangra as the 'Tourism Capital' and creating jobs. With 9.5 lakh patients leaving Himachal each year for better medical care is leading to an estimated GDP loss of Rs 1,350 crore, so we focussed on improving health infrastructure in the state. The government prioritised upgrading the five medical colleges (Shimla, Kangra, Mandi, Chamba, Hamirpur) to AIIMS Delhi standards. Key upgrades include installing two robotic surgery machines, which have performed approximately 100 successful operations in Shimla. We have increased stipends for senior resident doctors and super-specialists. We have adopted a stringent, zero-tolerance policy against the drug 'chitta', driven by concerns over its impact on society and youth. Authorities are actively enforcing strict laws, utilising the PIT NDPS Act to arrest suppliers and confiscate their assets. We have fulfilled six guarantees. The first guarantee was of providing old pension scheme (OPS) to govt employees, which was fulfilled in the first cabinet meeting after we came to power. In a phased manner we have started giving Rs 1,500 per month to women. Other fulfilled guarantees include purchasing of cow dung cakes at Rs 2 per kg, opening of English-medium schools, and launching of e-taxi scheme under Rajiv Gandhi self-employment startup scheme....