Himachal Govt talks austerity as revenue declines, debt rises Concerned over the declining revenue and increasing debt, the state government has decided to enforce some austerity measures which can mean strict restrictions on air travel, purchase of new vehicles, no extensions to retiring employees and further reduction in pension commutation of almost 2.66 lakh retired employees. Measures planned Restriction on air travel, purchase of new vehicles Complete ban on extensions to retiring employees Reduction in pension commutation of ex-employees A high-level meeting was held here on Friday where the government sought suggestions from all Principal Secretaries as to how the wasteful expenditure could be brought down. During the first half of this year, the revenue receipts are down by over Rs 1,000 crore, which amounts to 3 per cent decline in the revenue generation. A final decision with regard to the austerity measures that will be enforced is likely to be taken only after suggestions pour in from all quarters. “We could restrict air travel and purchase of new vehicles, put a complete ban on extensions to retiring employees and make further reduction in pension commutation from 20 to 10 per cent,” said an official. The possibility of reduction in phone limit is unlikely as the permissible limit is already very nominal. The government has already purchased 10 Toyota Camri, costing Rs 23 lakh each for the Cabinet Ministers. There is also a proposal to buy a Mercedes for Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who unlike the other Chief Ministers has not been using a high-end vehicle for travel. The concern over declining revenue receipts has compelled the government to think about austerity measures to bring down avoidable expenditure. “This year the revenue receipts from the power sector are down by almost Rs 500 crore, as there are no buyers for power generated in Himachal in the market, resulting in a major loss of revenue,” said an official. The per unit rate of power in the market has declined to a mere Rs 2 from almost Rs 7 per unit, last year, indicating the grim scenario for a power surplus state like Himachal. The revenue receipts from the forest sector, too, are down by almost Rs 100 crore in the first half of 2013. The maximum burden on the state exchequer is on account of an annual burden of Rs 6,000 crore as salary of government employees and Rs 2,800 crore as pensionary benefits being given to retiree employees. Interestingly, the percentage of employee ratio as compared to the total population in Himachal is almost 3 per cent, which is probably the highest except in some smaller north-eastern states. This percentage is almost half at 1.5 in Punjab and 1.4 in Uttarakhand. The total burden on account of the enhanced salaries and pensions on account of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations has worked out to be over Rs 4,000 crore. The BJP regime under PK Dhumal had imposed a ban on plying of government vehicles on every Monday to bring down fuel expenditure. However, later the practice was discontinued as it was found to be impractical. (Curtsy The Tribune)
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 07:06:48 +0000
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