Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today urged the Prime Minister to constitute a high-level committee for the hill state to assess losses incurred due to discontinuation of Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG), damages from natural disasters, and revenue losses under the GST regime.
The Chief Minister participated in the 11th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog held under the theme ‘Inclusive Human Development for Viksit Bharat’ in New Delhi. He requested that Himachal’s interests must be protected while executing the ambitious Chandrabhaga-Ravi-Beas link project for better water management.
“The discontinuation of RDG has dealt a major blow to Himachal’s economy, and Rs 25,000 crore provided to the state is insufficient to compensate for the loss. This amount must be doubled to Rs 50,000 crore so that development activities can be carried out smoothly,” he said.
Sukhu said Himachal provides Rs 90,000 crore in ecological services to the country, as per a study conducted by Indian Institute of Forest Management. However, the state is not being compensated for preserving ecology.
“Himachal is contributing to the country’s growth despite these limitations. A high-level committee constituted by the Government of India should assess these losses so that Himachal gets its legitimate share,” he said. He also sought the Centre’s intervention on states being deprived of a fair share of free power from hydro power projects.
Sukhu said Himachal was being deprived of its share of free power from the 13,000 MW being produced, and Rs 7,000 crore arrears due from BBMB were also pending. “Himachal suffered Rs 25,000 crore in losses in the last eight years due to the GST regime. The state also bore the brunt of natural disasters, but Rs 1,500 crore in central assistance is still awaited,” he stated.
Listing the state’s achievements on human development indicators, Sukhu said Himachal was declared fully literate in 2025 and ranked 6th in 2026 in school education in the Performance Grading Index report.
The CM said Himachal is poised to become the best state in green energy soon, due to initiatives like promoting solar energy, green hydrogen, pumped storage, and battery storage. Sukhu stressed the need for better air connectivity to promote tourism and for developing Gaggal airport in Kangra.
He also briefed the council about the state government’s aggressive anti-chitta campaign to discourage substance abuse. He requested support for the intelligence network and inter-agency cooperation.
