At a time when government officials are hoping for a salary raise in 8th pay commission, the cash starved Himachal Pradesh government has imposed a 30 per cent pay cut on the salaries of top bureaucrats, senior IPS officers, and other All India and state services officers to tide over financial difficulties.
This first-ever move by any state government facing an alarming debt burden and fiscal stress may trigger a countrywide debate on the governance model, especially where governments change every five years.
From this month onwards, those in the ranks of secretaries, heads of departments, Inspector General of Police, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Superintendent of Police, police officers up to the level of SPs, Chief Conservator of Forests, Conservator of Forests, and other forest officers up to the District Forest Officer level will face a reduction in pay of up to 20 per cent.
The move imposes effective salary cuts of 20 to 50 per cent on bureaucrats, IPS and IFS officers, Cabinet ministers, and the Chief Minister, as announced in the 2026–27 Budget by Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.
He said the state was facing severe financial strain after the Centre stopped Revenue Deficit Grants (RDG) worth Rs 10,000 crore and GST compensation of Rs 13,000 crore.
“Some tough decisions need to be made, and I expect everyone to support the government's efforts to pull the state out of the crisis and make it self-reliant by 2027,” said Sukhu.
He has already announced a voluntary 50 per cent cut in his own salary, 30 per cent for the Deputy Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, and 20 per cent for MLAs.
Former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur says the cuts would not help the state and instead signalled a looming financial emergency, with no funds for development and fresh loans being used to meet payments and interest liabilities on debt exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore.
“The decision (to defer salaries) was taken for all the senior government employees and MLAs. But it is a step towards a financial emergency. There is a section of affected people who are thinking over if the state government is authorised to issue such orders or not. For this section, a legal review of this decision is necessary,” he said.
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