Following the withdrawal of Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG, the cash strapped Himachal Pradesh government is mulling over downsizing cadre strength of All India Services, including IAS, IPS and IFS officers. The exercise is aimed at streamlining the administrative structure and also reducing the expenditure.
The state government is said to have sent a proposal to centre reducing the sanctioned strength of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers from 153 to 147.
Similarly, posts of Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers has also been proposed to reduce from 114 to 83.
“The state government is likely to send a proposal to reduce cadre strength of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers also,” said a senior official.
The discontinuation of RDG, as recommended by 16th Finance Commission, is likely to hit the state with a revenue deficit of ₹8,000– ₹10,000 crore annually between 2026 and 2031.
The annual expenditure on one IAS or IFS officer is between ₹45 lakh and ₹50 lakh. The proposed reduction in cadre strength is expected to save the state crores of rupees annually, which can be used for development works.
Himachal Government already deferred portion of salaries
Earlier the Himachal government has announced to defer some portion of salaries of ministers and senior bureaucrats from May 2026.
Thirty per cent of the salary of the chief secretary, additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, director general of police, additional director general of police, principal chief conservator of forests and additional principal chief conservator of forests has been deferred.
Twenty per cent of the salary of the 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 have been deferred.
The deferred portion of the pay shall not be treated as a deduction and will be released at a later date based on the financial position of the state government.
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