Himachal demands Rs 7,565-cr bailout, Virbhadra meets PM
Accompanied by state Principal Secretary (Finance) Srikant Baldi and Principal Secretary to the CM, V C Pharka, Virbhadra met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and asked for resumption of Special Central Assistance (SCA) and incentives to accelerate industrial growth. “He asked for enhancing the industrial package till 2020, special central assistance and liberal funding for centrally-aided schemes,” said Pharka.
Virbhadra told the Prime Minister that the 13th Finance Commission had left an “uncovered gap” in the committed liabilities. For instance, in terms of salaries, pensions and interest, the gap is almost worth Rs 3,522 crore during 2012-13. It is likely to increase to Rs 4,043 crore during 2013-14. “The Prime Minister assured that the matter would be examined so that the fiscal deficit can come down,” said an official spokesman later in the evening.
The chief minister also urged the PM to reconsider the state’s request for restoring the cut-off of Rs 106.08 crore in the approved SCA allocations for 2012-13. The state was allocated a SCA of only Rs 900 crore during 2012-13.
Further, Virbhadra made a strong case for the funding of centrally-sponsored schemes in the ratio of 90:10 for all special category states. At present, Himachal Pradesh was getting less funds when compared to other special category states in the North-East. He also demanded that the
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