Shimla, March 19 The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed a supplementary budget of Rs 40,461.95 crore for the year 2025-26 on Thursday.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presented the supplementary demands for the year 2025-26 in the Assembly, and the budget was passed through a voice vote.
The supplementary budget included Rs 36,374.61 crore under state schemes and Rs 4,087.34 crore for centrally sponsored schemes.
Under the state schemes, Rs 26,194.95 crore has been allocated for 'Ways and Means' and overdrafts, and Rs 4,150.14 crore for power generation and for converting loans provided to the Electricity Board under the UDAY scheme into equity.
Additionally, Rs 818.20 crore is for natural disaster relief, Rs 785.22 crore for water supply and sewerage schemes, and Rs 657.22 crore for Himcare, the Sahara Scheme, robotic surgery facilities at the Medical Colleges, the establishment of advanced testing laboratories, and the procurement of PET scanners, construction works of Medical College and hospitals, and providing power supply to AIIMS Bilapsur.
Under the Special Central Assistance, Rs 555.89 crore has been allocated for projects, including shopping complexes at the vegetable market, bus stand, flyover, and underground utility duct.
Furthermore, an allocation of Rs 453.63 crore has been made for road maintenance, bridges, construction of rural roads, and compensation, while Rs 443.33 crore is for subsidies to the Himachal Road Transport Corporation in place of fare concessions provided to various categories of passengers.
Additionally, Rs 192.20 crore has been allocated for road construction and the procurement of machinery and equipment for the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Battalion Headquarters in Behna (Mandi).
Under Centrally Sponsored Schemes, the majority of the funds are proposed for ongoing and new development projects for which financial assistance was received from the Central government during the current year, which includes Rs 2,453.97 crore for disaster management, Rs 688.40 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, and Rs 352.18 crore as compensation for persons displaced by the Renukaji Dam project.
Last year on March 17, CM Sukhu had presented a Rs 58,514-cr budget for the financial year 2025-26 with a focus on tourism, rural development, and green energy.
The supplementary budget has completely negated the Chief Minister's three favorite catchphrases – "Fiscal Prudence, Fiscal Management, and Fiscal Discipline," as well as his promise of Vyavastha Parivartan (change in system), said Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur.
Talking to the media here, he said that the supplementary budget, constituting 70 per cent of the total outlay, serves as a certificate of the government's economic failure.
An additional expenditure of 70 per cent indicates that the government lacked confidence in its own figures, and the government should explain that from where this additional funding will come from, he added.