Freebies, declining central grants: Himachal's uphill task to fix finances

State has announced it will impose electricity consumption cess and defer salaries of ministers for two months

The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh will impose electricity cesses and rationalise subsidies, realising it has to put its shaky finances in order. The state used to run a surplus on the revenue balance until three years back, barring a minor deficit in the pandemic year of 2020-21. Subsidies have been blamed for Himachal's problem but that would be lopsided: Declining central grants are a reason too.

The state's committed expenditure constitutes around 80 per cent of revenue receipts. While many say the state hurt itself by returning to the old pension system last year, liability on