CM Sukhu Pleads for 2% Borrowing Hike to Tide Over Debt Crisis — Will the Centre Loosen Its Purse for a ‘Single Engine’ State?
Shimla, October 29:
In a desperate bid to salvage Himachal’s fragile finances, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Tuesday, seeking a 2% increase in the state’s additional borrowing limit for the current financial year. But behind the formal request lies a deeper crisis — and a political undertone that can’t be ignored.
Facing a widening debt burden and shrinking revenue, Sukhu urged the Union government to adopt a “liberal approach” in extending financial support and grants to the hill state.
He pointed out that despite sincere efforts to raise internal revenue, Himachal’s financial health has worsened due to repeated natural disasters and a steady cut in central aid.
The CM reminded Sitharaman that the state’s revenue deficit grant has plummeted from ₹10,249 crore in 2020–21 to ₹3,257 crore in 2025–26, under the 15th Finance Commission.
Add to that, he said, the ₹18,000 crore loss caused by landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts in the past three years — disasters that also claimed 1,321 lives.
Sukhu also flagged the rationalisation of GST rates as another blow, claiming it had further eroded the state’s already narrow tax base.
“Given the difficult circumstances, the state deserves a fair and liberal financial handholding,” he pleaded.
While Sitharaman assured that Himachal’s demands would be “considered sympathetically,” with possible support under Special Central Assistance and in the health sector, there’s quiet skepticism in Shimla’s political corridors.
Observers say Sukhu’s financial SOS comes at a time when the Centre’s purse strings appear to loosen faster for BJP-ruled ‘double engine’ states.
Himachal, governed by the Congress, continues to face the chill of Delhi’s selective generosity.
Whether Prime Minister Modi’s government will bend rules for a “single engine” state struggling under debt and disaster — or keep it waiting on the fiscal margins — is a question that will test not just Himachal’s balance sheet, but also the Centre’s political balance.
#HimachalCrisis #SukhuVsCentre #NirmalaSitharaman #DebtTrapHimachal
