Himachal Faces 'Financial Emergency' as Centre Halts Key Grant, Subsidies at Risk

• The central government's decision to stop the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) for Himachal Pradesh has sparked a major controversy, leading to a potential 'financial emergency' in the state.
• Himachal's Finance Department presented that without strict measures, free 125 units of electricity, free HRTC bus travel, and new government job recruitments may be abolished.
• The state's annual income is ₹18,000 crore, while expenditure is ₹48,000 crore, with a debt exceeding ₹1 lakh crore; the RDG cessation removes 13% of Himachal's development funding.
• Stopping all grants, including electricity, water, bus fares, food subsidies, social security pensions, and employee DA, is being considered to manage the financial crisis.
• The Himachal government plans to go to court over the RDG cessation, which affects 17 states, and is facing additional financial strain from stopped GST compensation and natural disasters.