Sukhu Raises Himachal Issues at NITI Aayog Meeting

New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute a high-level committee for the hill state to assess the losses incurred on account of discontinuation of Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG), damages due to natural disasters, being deprived of a fair amount of free power in hydro power projects and revenue losses due to the GST regime.

Participating in the 11th Governing Council Meeting of Niti Aayog under the theme 'Inclusive human development for Viksit Bharat', he said the state is contributing towards the growth of the country despite these limitations, however, a detailed report may be presented by the high-level committee to the Government of India so that the state may get its due share.

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, deliberated upon the strategies to translate the vision into measurable outcomes and ensure inclusive growth across the country.

Sukhu said the discontinuation of RDG posed a major blow to the economy of the state and added that Rs 25,000 crore provided to the state is insufficient to compensate the loss, according to a state government release.

He demanded that the amount be increased to Rs 50,000 crore so that development activities can be carried out in the state in a smooth manner, the statement said.

The Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh is the green frontier of the country and requires special attention from GoI in order to translate the vision of Viksit Bharat in its true letter and spirit.

He said that Himachal Pradesh provides Rs 90,000 crore ecological services to the country as per a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Forest Management; however, the state is not being compensated accordingly for its contribution towards preserving ecology.


The statement said Sukhu said the state was being deprived of a fair amount of free power on 13,000 MW of power being produced in the state and added that thestate has still not received arrears amounting to Rs 7,000 crore from BBMB. He also mentioned that state bore the brunt of natural disasters and added that state still awaits the announced Rs 1500 crore special assistance from GoI.

He further apprised that state incurred revenue losses amounting to Rs 25,000 crore during previous eight years due to the current GST regime.

Listing out the achievements of the state on human development indicators, Sukhu said the state was declared fully literate in the year 2025 and ranked 6th in the year 2026 in school education in theperformance grading index report. The state ranked 21st in this index in year 2022 when this government assumed charge.

The state registers 43 per cent gross enrollment ratio in higher education, which is 28.4 per cent higher than the national average ratio, he said, adding that the state has maintained its excellent performance in the National Family and Health Survey Report 6.

The Chief Minister said that the state is poised to become the best state in green energy soon due to various initiatives like promoting solar energy, green hydrogen, pump storage and battery storage, etc. He requested to protect the interests of the state while executing the ambitious Chandrabhaga-Ravi-Beas link project for better water management.

He stressed upon the need for air connectivity to attract tourists from home and abroad. He urged for developing Gaggal airport so that the state can be part of One State One International Destination.

Sukhu also stressed upon coordination between health, women and child welfare and Education departments for proper execution of child nutrition programmes. He said data sharing between ASHA workers and Anganwari workers is significant. He said that there was a need for integrated AI enabled, IT based data driven evidence based decision making and outcome based monitoring system is important.

He also briefed about the aggressive anti-'chitta' campaign of state government to discourage substance abuse. He requested for support in intelligence network and inter-agency cooperation.