In a first, size of Himachal budget cut by Rs 3,500 crore from last year

Shimla, Mar 21 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday presented a Rs 54,928-crore budget for 2026-27, and blamed discontinuation of revenue deficit grant to the state for annual losses of over Rs 8,000 crore.

The grant -- a financial assistance provided by the Centre to fill the gap between the state's revenue and expenses -- was discontinued earlier this month.

Sukhu's Budget speech was disrupted by sloganeering by opposition BJP members after he accused them of "not siding with the state" on the issue of the discontinuation of revenue deficit grant (RDG) that had impacted the state's budget, resulting in a loss of Rs 8,105 crore annually.

"History will never forget them," he said, drawing immediate reaction from BJP members.

This is the first time that the size of the budget has been reduced in the state -- to Rs 54,928 crore from Rs 58,514 crore for the ongoing fiscal year, resulting in a cut of Rs 3,586 crore.

As the sloganeering continued, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania adjourned the House till 11.30 am after which the BJP members left the floor, though Congress MLAs remained seated.

Minutes later, BJP members returned and continued raising slogans while the chief minister carried on with his budget speech.

Sukhu, who was presenting his fourth budget, said a comparison of Himachal Pradesh with Uttarakhand and Assam is wrong as Himachal is a hill state with limited resources like water and forest. "Himachal is the lung of north India and should get a green bonus but instead the revenue deficit grant to the state has been discontinued." He said conflicts around the world have started impacting the state as well and LPG prices are increasing due to the ongoing war between US-Israel and Iran.

The chief minister, who holds the finance portfolio, announced a provision of Rs 500 crore to complete pending works, adding that a list of 300 incomplete works has been prepared.

The state is expected to register a 8.3 per cent growth for the current fiscal year while its per capita income has increased to Rs 2,83,626 at 9.8 per cent, he said.

The chief minister also announced plans to develop an aerocity in Kangra and a provision of Rs 3,300 crore to acquire land to build an airport in the district.

The state also hiked milk procurement price by Rs 10 with cow milk to be bought for Rs 61 per litre, and buffalo milk at Rs 71.

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Sukhu further announced a minimum support price for fish at Rs 100 per kg, "which will benefit over 6,000 fishermen in the state". A Kisan Aayog and women's tourism fund will also be constituted in the state, he added. PTI