Shimla, Dec. 10 -- Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who completes three years in power on Thursday and is geared up for a show of strength at Mandi, says all poll guarantees will be fulfilled by the end of his term.
"There is no question of going back on any of the 10 guarantees. Rather, we have gone beyond the outlined agenda to make the state self-reliant through Vyavastha Parivartan and manage the state's fiscal health, mobilising additional resources," he said before proceeding to Mandi.
Sukhu admits that the state was on the verge of a debt trap due to financial mismanagement and disastrous policies of the BJP government, which had left a backlog of huge liabilities.
"We have not only tapped the additional sources and regularly maintained the roadmap of interest repayments of the loans raised by the earlier government but also tried to keep the finances under check. There is a financial stress due to the centre stopping some of the grants, capping the loan limits, and the state's dues on political considerations," he lamented
Despite navigating one of the most challenging financial periods in Himachal Pradesh's recent history, CM Sukhu asserts that his govt remains firmly committed to fulfilling every guarantee given by the Congress before the 2022 Assembly elections.
"When the Congress government assumed office, it inherited a debt of nearly Rs 75,000 crore. The state now meets monthly salary and pension commitments of about Rs 2,200 crore across departments, while boards and corporations manage their own expenditure of roughly Rs 800 crore. Following the rollout of OPS, the Centre reduced our additional borrowing limit by Rs 1,600 crore, which has further tightened the state's financial space."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.