Latest News | 'Baseless': Jairam Thakur on Himachal CM Charges Against Centre over Financial Aid
Get latest articles and stories on Latest News at LatestLY. Leader of the opposition in Himachal assembly, Jairam Thakur on Monday dismissed as "baseless" the charge levelled by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu against the central government for not issuing financial assistance to the state.
Shimla, Oct 7 (PTI) Leader of the opposition in Himachal assembly, Jairam Thakur on Monday dismissed as "baseless" the charge levelled by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu against the central government for not issuing financial assistance to the state.
Talking to the media persons here, Thakur asserted that the state government cannot even pay the salaries and pensions to employees if Revenue Deficit Grants (RDG) and share in central taxes are not released timely.
Himachal is getting Rs 750 crore as shares in central taxes and Rs 500 crore as RDG which helps the state meet the salary and pension liabilities, he said.
He said that the charges against the central government are "baseless and false".
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had said that the RDG and shares in taxes are the rights of the state. The Union Government is not doing any favour by releasing these grants to Himachal Pradesh.
"From where does the centre get its taxes? The centre gets taxes from the state and the funds given to the state is our right and not doles," Sukhu said.
Thakur said that the biggest help provided by the Centre was an interest-free loan for 50 years and the state has raised Rs 1,500 crore loan from it, which was the highest so far.
He said that the chief minister has been crying about the financial crunch from day one and payments amounting to Rs 350 crore are pending under Ayushman Bharat and Himcare schemes and the hospitals not honouring the cards and causing inconvenience to patients.
Accusing the government of neglecting the health centre, Thakur said that his government had notified 500 posts of doctors in one go and filled 300 posts but the present government has not made a single appointment in the past two years.
Criticising the chief minister for not giving credit for developmental works to the centre and the previous government, Thakur said that all the projects including the Tertiary Cancer Centre in IGMC for which the centre had given Rs 56 crore were under centrally sponsored schemes. There was not a word of appreciation for the centre.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)