BJP MPs unite blaming HP CM for creating financial mess, that led to stop of tge RDG. MPs urge Sukhu to engage with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and PM Modi as the Modi government era is an era of cooperative federalism
New Delhi, February 5:
Blaming Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu squarely for the discontinuation of Revenue Deficit Grants (RDG), BJP MPs from Himachal Pradesh on Thursday said the cut was a direct consequence of the Congress government’s failure to observe fiscal discipline, even as the State continued to receive tens of thousands of crores from the Centre after Sukhu took over power.
Addressing a press conference, BJP MP Anurag Singh Thakur said the 16th Finance Commission withdrew RDG because Himachal did not improve its tax effort, rein in revenue expenditure or contain debt, despite generous Central support in previous years.
“RDG was never meant to be permanent. Himachal ignored repeated fiscal warnings and is now blaming the Centre to hide its own mismanagement,” he said.
Dishing out figures, the BJP said since 2023—when Sukhu assumed office—Himachal has received well over ₹40,000 crore from the Centre in the form of tax devolution, grants-in-aid and special assistance. Annual tax devolution alone stood at ₹11,561 crore in 2025–26 and is estimated to rise to ₹13,949 crore in 2026–27 under the 16th Finance Commission, while grants and special capital assistance continued alongside.
The MPs underlined that during 2014–26, cumulative tax devolution touched about ₹76,799 crore and grants-in-aid nearly ₹1.41 lakh crore, a scale of support far higher than the UPA era. They also pointed out that Himachal received ₹8,309 crore under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) since 2020–21—an interest-free, 50-year loan window meant to push capital expenditure.
Countering Sukhu’s “financial crisis” narrative, Thakur cited Finance Commission data showing low own-tax revenue (around 5.6% of GSDP), high revenue expenditure (about 21%), a fiscal deficit of 5.3%, and debt levels exceeding 42% of GSDP, which led the Commission to deny RDG.
Listing major Central initiatives, Anurag Singh Thakur said the Modi government has executed and funded a string of transformative projects in Himachal Pradesh since 2014, including AIIMS Bilaspur (₹1,470+ crore), the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (₹500 crore), IIM Sirmaur (₹531.75 crore) and IIIT Una (₹64 crore), apart from new medical colleges at Chamba, Hamirpur and Nahan with Central support of about ₹700 crore.
He said industrial growth was pushed through the Una Bulk Drug Park with ₹1,000 crore Central funding and the Nalagarh Medical Devices Park, while connectivity received a major boost with 255 km of new railway lines costing about ₹13,168 crore, ₹2,911 crore rail allocation for 2026–27, over 2,600 km of national highways built since 2014, and multiple stations upgraded under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, underscoring what he called the Centre’s “development-first approach” for the hill state.
“The money has come. What hasn’t come is fiscal discipline,” the BJP MPs said, urging the State government to stop “crying foul” and instead speed up its share for Central projects, warning that delays were hurting Himachal’s own development.
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