Himachal Pradesh government has proposed convening a special Assembly session on February 17 to address the Centre’s decision to discontinue the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG). The proposal has been sent to Raj Bhavan through the Assembly Secretariat at the government’s request.
Following Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s approval, the Cabinet has granted permission through circulation and forwarded the proposal to the Governor. As the Governor is currently out of Shimla, approval is expected upon their return.
The special session has been called in response to the central government’s decision to completely eliminate the RDG provision in the Union Budget presented after the 16th Finance Commission report. This has dealt a significant blow to the Himachal government, which will now be unable to compensate for its revenue deficit. The state’s revenue deficit has been increasing year after year.
Financial impact on Himachal
Based on the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission, Himachal Pradesh received approximately Rs 37,199 crore as revenue deficit grant between 2021 and 2026. The grant was allocated for five years, with Rs 10,249 crore disbursed in 2021-22, Rs 9,377 crore in 2022-23, Rs 8,058 crore in 2023-24, and Rs 6,258 crore in 2024-25.
During the special session, the state government will discuss the issue with the opposition and pass a resolution to be sent to the Centre, requesting restoration of the grant.
Congress legislature party meeting on Feb 8
A Congress Legislature Party meeting has been scheduled for February 8 to discuss the RDG discontinuation issue. The meeting, to be chaired by Chief Minister Sukhu, will be attended by the Deputy Chief Minister, all ministers, and Congress MLAs. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan has informed all ministers and legislators about the meeting. A Cabinet meeting will also be held at 11 AM on the same day.
BJP may boycott MLA priority meetings
The BJP is set to decide on Thursday whether to boycott MLA priority meetings. A BJP legislature party meeting has been called Thursday evening under the chairmanship of Leader of Opposition Jayram Thakur in Shimla. BJP MLAs are reportedly upset over the non-release of MLA funds and discretionary funds, with their NABARD schemes also pending.
MLA priority meetings are scheduled for February 6 and 7 at the State Secretariat to gather priorities from legislators for the 2026-27 budget preparation.
Former Chief Minister Jayram Thakur had recently warned of boycotting the MLA priority meetings. The Leader of Opposition has alleged that the government is not giving importance to BJP MLAs’ priorities. He stated that if the government does not take previous priority DPRs and budget approvals seriously, the BJP will have no option but to boycott these meetings.
Thakur had said that the situation is such that the government is neither getting their DPRs prepared nor sending them to concerned departments for financial approvals. He accused the government of forcing the opposition to boycott MLA priority meetings due to partisan political ambitions.
