Shimla, July 22,
Amid Himachal Pradesh High Court’s strict directives to clear pending liabilities and dues of retirees and employees, pressure seems to be mounting on the State Finance Department officials of Himachal Pradesh as it remained huddled in the state secretariat on Monday.
Following recent directions issued by a High Court bench, significant financial pressure is mounting on the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government. The Court had summoned the concerned officials of the Finance Department to explain their failure to fulfill the mandate of clearing extensive employee and pensioner liabilities.
It is noteworthy that during a previous hearing, the High Court dismissed the government’s argument of an empty treasury, insisting that financial benefits be provided under all circumstances.
The Court, hearing a different set of petitions recently, highlighted five critical cases related to retired employees and their dependents, including the regularization of contract periods and the disbursement of arrears with interest to employees pending since 2016 or earlier.
According to reliable sources, after the High Court’s strict directives on Monday, Principal Secretary of the Finance Department, Devesh Kumar, called an urgent meeting with all relevant departments to strategize on fulfilling these financial obligations. The meeting was convened at the Secretariat to assess the impact on the treasury and devise a payment plan.
Cases such as those of Surendra Rana, Balo Devi, and Sheela Devi highlight the extensive liabilities, with court orders enforcing lump-sum payments rather than installments. The government’s challenge now lies in arranging the necessary funds to comply with these legal directives.
Speaking to media persons at the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha today, even Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that the previous BJP government handed over huge debt and pending liabilities to his administration. He acknowledged that his government is forced to borrow to pay the interest on the borrowing done by the last government. Despite strained financial resources, he assured that efforts are being made to generate revenue, noting that the state has improved its revenue by 20 percent in one year.
The Chief Minister also criticized the BJP, stating they have no right to question the financial management of his government, given the substantial expenditure on the Janmanch program launched by the saffron party before the assembly election. Sukhu emphasized that his government is trying to secure funds from the central government, asserting that the center cannot withhold taxpayers’ money from state governments for long.
However rebutting the Chief Minister’s claim later Leader of opposition Jairam Thakur said that instead of talking about this and that, the Chief Minister should clarify that why the government took a loan of about 25 thousand crores in the tenure of one and a half years?
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