Double-Engine Failure? Himachal Ministers Rebut Nadda, Blame Centre for ₹112 Cr Healthcare Free
SHIMLA — The political temperature in Himachal Pradesh surged into a full-scale slugfest as the ruling Congress launched a sharp counteroffensive against Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, accusing the Centre of strangling the hill state's healthcare finances while shifting blame to mask its own omissions.
Responding directly to Nadda’s allegations that the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led administration had mismanaged Central aid and derailed critical development projects, Himachal Health Minister Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil and Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan termed the Union Minister’s remarks “politically motivated, factually baseless,” and born out of the BJP’s “growing frustration over an eroding voter base”.
The ministers contended that far from receiving untrammeled generosity, Himachal Pradesh has been forced to plug gaping funding deficits left behind by New Delhi.
The ₹112-Crore Deficit and Scheme Distress
Mounting their defense with audited figures, Shandil and Chauhan claimed the Union Government has withheld ₹112 crore due to Himachal Pradesh between 2021 and 2026 under the flagship Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
Under the established 90:10 funding mechanism for special category hill states, the Centre is mandated to shoulder nine-tenths of the financial load. However, according to the ministers, the Sukhu administration has had to dig deep into state coffers to prevent the healthcare safety net from imploding:
Patient Coverage: Around 2.85 lakh residents have received treatment under the scheme since 2023, incurring a total expenditure of roughly ₹420 crore.
State Overspending: While the state’s mandatory 10% commitment was capped at approximately ₹60 crore, the state government mobilized around ₹203 crore from its own treasury—more than three times its statutory share—to ensure treatments were not suspended.
"The BJP talks about double-engine governance, but on the ground, the Centre has withheld funds rightfully owed to the people of Himachal, forcing the state to step in and absorb four times its allocated financial liability," the ministers said in a joint statement.
Critical Health Infrastructure Stalled
Turning to Nadda's charges regarding underutilization of the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), the cabinet ministers pushed back, arguing that execution delays are a direct consequence of erratic Central releases rather than administrative inertia.
Out of the ₹360 crore sanctioned under PM-ABHIM—where the Centre is again committed to a 90% share—a significant portion remains unreleased. The state government claimed this pipeline crunch has choked work on several frontline facilities:
9 Critical Care Blocks
12 District Integrated Public Health Laboratories
38 Urban Ayushman Arogya Mandirs
73 Block Public Health Units
Had the Central share arrived on schedule, the ministers asserted, these primary and tertiary facilities would already be functional, drastically curbing out-of-pocket referral expenses for remote hill communities.
Legacy Debt vs. Fiscal Accountability
The ministers placed the current fiscal strain in historical context, characterizing the previous BJP regime (2017–2022) as a "dark chapter" in Himachal's economic history.
They pointed out that when the Sukhu government assumed office in December 2022, it inherited an accumulated debt burden of nearly ₹75,000 crore, alongside unpaid liabilities exceeding ₹10,000 crore toward government employees—including unpaid Dearness Allowance arrears and Sixth Pay Commission dues left unaddressed by the previous regime.
Contrasting this with their tenure, Shandil and Chauhan highlighted that administrative reforms and a crackdown on leakages have stabilized public finances while steering the state toward self-reliance.
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