Shimla, February 14 The Himachal BJP president on Saturday criticized the ruling government in the state for its complete failure in the financial sector.
He accused the Congress-led government of repeatedly complaining about the financial crisis and blaming the Centre for hiding its failure despite receiving "historic" financial support.
Addressing a press conference here, Bindal said that the government, which has been in power for nearly 40 months, was trying to shift the blame to the Centre to cover up its failure despite receiving liberal financial support.
"The real issue was not a lack of funds, but financial mismanagement and an inability to utilize the funds. Administrative failure has pushed the state into an unprecedented financial crisis," he said.
Referring to the recent all-party meeting held on Friday, Bindal said that although it was presented as a platform for collective discussion, its seriousness was undermined by the absence of senior leaders such as the state Congress chief and the deputy chief minister.
He added that other concerned ministers were also not invited, sending a message that the government was not serious about reaching a consensus on ways to overcome the crisis, and the intention was to send a political message.
Citing the official financial presentation prepared by the state government, he said that Himachal Pradesh's share in central taxes has increased from around 0.830 per cent to 0.914 per cent, approximately Rs 13,950 crore for 2026, which was nearly Rs 2,450 crore more than the previous year.
In addition, the state is set to receive around Rs 4,179 crore under rural and urban development grants and about Rs 2,682 crore under state disaster relief fund and disaster management fund provisions, he claimed.
Bindal asserted that these figures were provided in the government's documents.
The state BJP chief further pointed out that Himachal Pradesh received Rs 1,979 crore during the 11th Finance Commission (2001-05), Rs 10,202 crore in the 12th Finance Commission, and Rs 7,889 crore in the 13th Finance Commission.
He further said that around Rs 40,624 crore was received under the 14th Finance Commission and Rs 48,000 crore during the 15th Finance Commission.
The state received nearly Rs 27,000 crore in the last three and a half years under various heads, yet Himachal Pradesh continues to project a dismal financial picture, he claimed.
Despite substantial inflows, several institutions have been shut down, payments of pensions and allowances have been delayed, public welfare schemes have been truncated, taxes on cement, diesel, stamp duty, transport fares, and electricity tariffs have been hiked, putting a burden on people at large, he alleged.
Referring to the state's own fiscal data, he said the report shows total revenue was around Rs 42,000 crore against expenditure of around Rs 48,000 crore, leaving a gap of roughly Rs 6,000 crore.
