BJP Left ₹10,000 Crore DA, Pay Arrears Without Provision; BJP’s ‘Hue and Cry’ on Finances Hypocritical After Revenue Deficit Grant Misuse: CM Sukhu
Shimla: The controversy over the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) has triggered a fresh political confrontation in Himachal Pradesh, with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accusing the previous BJP government of misusing massive central assistance and leaving the state in deep financial distress.
Reacting to the BJP’s defence of the 16th Finance Commission’s observations on the discontinuation of Revenue Deficit Grant, Sukhu said the party had no moral right to question the present government’s fiscal position. He said the BJP enjoyed unprecedented financial support from the Centre during its tenure but failed to strengthen the state’s economy.
The Chief Minister said the BJP government received ₹54,296 crore as Revenue Deficit Grant over five years, an amount that accounted for nearly 25 to 30 per cent of the state’s total revenue receipts. In addition, the previous regime also received around ₹16,000 crore as GST compensation. He alleged that instead of investing these funds in development and essential infrastructure, the money was spent on political stabilisation and freebies.
Giving year-wise details, Sukhu said the BJP received ₹8,449 crore in 2018–19, ₹8,271 crore in 2019–20, ₹8,062 crore in 2020–21, ₹11,431 crore as interim grant, ₹7,834 crore in 2021–22 and ₹10,249 crore in 2022–23 under the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions, taking the total Revenue Deficit Grant to ₹54,296 crore.
In contrast, he said, the present Congress government has received only ₹17,563 crore in Revenue Deficit Grant during the last three years — ₹8,058 crore in 2023–24, ₹6,258 crore in 2024–25 and ₹3,257 crore in 2025–26 — which is almost half of what the BJP received.
Sukhu alleged that despite access to such large funds, the BJP government failed to clear employee arrears and did not announce Dearness Allowance. He said liabilities of nearly ₹10,000 crore towards revised pay scales and DA were left unpaid without any budgetary provision, describing it as a last-minute political decision.
The Chief Minister said the Congress government inherited a fragile fiscal situation in December 2022. By the end of the BJP’s tenure, the state’s outstanding debt had risen to around ₹76,185 crore, an increase of nearly ₹28,000 crore in just five years. He said this was further worsened by the opening of over 900 institutions in the last six months of the previous government, creating an unfunded annual liability of about ₹5,000 crore.
Sukhu said the present government was forced to de-notify many of these institutions to prevent a financial collapse. He also criticised the BJP for neglecting the health sector despite having sufficient funds.
He said the Congress government has now prioritised healthcare, launching a ₹3,000 crore modernisation plan along with an additional ₹1,300 crore under JICA Phase-II to strengthen health services across the state.
Calling the BJP’s criticism of the current fiscal condition “hypocritical”, the Chief Minister said the party was now raising questions after “vandalising the state treasury” during its own tenure.
