High expectations from a new leader

Rakesh Lohumi

Jai Ram listening to people's grievances

Himachal Pradesh has been witnessing change of political regime with every assembly election since 1985 but the elevation of 53-year old Jai Ram Thakur to the top position is a major political development on many counts. He is the first chief minister from Mandi, the second largest district of the state after Kangra and he has managed to achieve what political heavy weights like Karm Singh and Sukh Ram could not.
By selecting a young leader from the central region to head the government the BJP has brought about the much awaited generational change in the state leadership. For the past 25 years the state was being ruled by two political heavy weights Virbhadra Singh and P.K.Dhumal who pursued populist policies to the hilt.
A new leader in the saddle is expected to break from the traditional politics of populism pursued by his predecessors and herald a new era of development in the hill state with progressive policies and good governance. The people of the state, particularly the younger lot, have high hopes from him. He has already indicated that youth will be at the centre of his government's policies and programmes.

Multiple challenges

Jai Ram in the Vidhan Sabha However, given the multiple challenges the state faces it will be a daunting task to fulfil the aspiration of the people. The fund-starved state is reeling under a huge debt of over Rs 49,000 crore and the revenue gap is likely to widen due to the economic slowdown caused by demonetisation and implementation of GST. The first budget presented by Jai Ram brought out a true picture of the state's precarious financial health and gave some indication of his priorities and strategy he is going to adopt to tackle the major problems.

The first budget presented by Jai Ram brought out a true picture of the state's precarious financial health and gave some indication of his priorities and strategy he is going to adopt to tackle the major problems.

Unsustainable debt

The figures made it evident that the high level of debt was becoming unsustainable given the limited scope for resource mobilisation in the special category state, largely dependent on Central assistance. While the outgo on account of salaries, pension and interest payments will jump from Rs 18,724 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 26,053 crore in 2021-22 , an increase of Rs 7,329 crore , the state's own tax and non-tax revenue is estimated to go up only by Rs 4396 crore from Rs 9,520 crore to Rs 13,916 crore over the period. Thus, the revenue gap will continue to widen and state will have to raise more loans, besides banking on additional support from the Centre. In this rather grave financial scenario Jai Ram will have to bring in a new vision to take the state forward on the road to development and take steps to raise state's own resources.
Besides restoring fiscal stability; he has to tackle the problem of unemployment, which already seems intractable, with number of jobless crossing over the 10 lakh mark. There is little scope of employment in the heavily over-staffed government sector and, in fact, state needs to downsize the heavy administrative set up.

Biggest assets

Spelling out his approach Jai Ram said the youth power and the clean hill environment were the most important assets of the state. The strategy would be to transform the vast youth power into engine for economic growth by focussing on their all-round development, particularly entrepreneurial skills, and provide financial and other support to enable them to start their own ventures in eco-friendly sectors. Comprehensive policy framework would be put in place to promote economic activity in eco-friendly sectors like tourism, agriculture, horticulture, adventure sports, renewable energy for which the state has huge potential. All the policies and programmes would be formulated with a view to involving youths and preserving the fragile environment.
He said the government was finalising a Rs 640-crore Asian Development Bank-funded skill development project and an amount of Rs 100 crore had been earmarked in the budget for skill development. He had already announced "Yuva Ajivika Yojna" under which the youths in the age group of 18 to 35 years would be entitled to 5 per cent subsidy on loan.
The existing eco-tourism policy will be reviewed to ensure that it benefits the local people the most. The government was in the process of framing a film policy and a sports policy. Traditional sports like kabaddi, kho-kho and wrestling, which have remained neglected, would be promoted in a big way to channelise the energy of rural youth. A sports policy was being finalised and the government was pondering over a proposal to set up a sports university.

The existing ecotourism policy will be reviewed to ensure that it benefits the local people the most. The government was in the process of framing a film policy and a sports policy. Traditional sports like kabaddi, khokho and wrestling, which have remained neglected, would be promoted in a big way to channelise the energy of rural youth. A sports policy was being finalised and the government was pondering over a proposal to set up a sports university.

Organic state

In a predominantly rural state, where 89 per cent population lives in villages, inclusive growth could be ensured only by boosting agriculture and horticulture. His plan was to follow Sikkim and make Himachal an "organic state" in line with the broader objective to preserve the environment, Jai Ram explained.
He said he had given major thrust to agriculture and the rural sectors in the budget. The subsidy on green house had been raised from 50 to 75 per cent and the outlay for providing subsidy on anti-hail net had been increased from Rs 2 crore to Rs 10 crore. Further 60 percent subsidy would be provided for anti-hail guns and 85 percent for solar fencing to keep stray animals away from crops.
A new "flow irrigation scheme" had been launched with an outlay of Rs 150 crore for next five years and a " Solar Irrigation Scheme" with a budget outlay of Rs 200 crore has also been announced. Farmers would be provided electricity for irrigation purpose at 75 paisa per unit instead of the existing Re 1 per unit. A sum of Rs 150 crore had been set apart for opening and up gradation of agriculture markets and the crop insurance scheme had been extended to all the districts.

Tourism

The initiative taken by the Modi government at the Centre to upgrade and expand road infrastructure and start low-cost flights under the "Udaan" regional connectivity scheme would immensely help in boosting tourism in the state which has scant rail network. The Centre had in principle approved 69 new national highways and work on three major four-laning projects is underway. Improved connectivity would make most areas of the state easily accessible and "remoteness" would not discourage tourists from visiting the state, Jai Ram points out.
The government would also make efforts to bring IT industry to the state to create employment opportunities for educated youth. With abundant power, stable and expansive telecom network, better air-connectivity and peaceful environment the IT industry will not have any issues, he feels.
Jai Ram has just completed three months in office and he is still in the process of settling down. It will take him a while to assert his authority and take command of the bureaucracy without which it will not be possible translate his plans into reality.



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He is the first chief minister from Mandi, the second largest district of the state after Kangra and he has managed to achieve what political heavy weights like Karm Singh and Sukh Ram could not. By selecting a young leader from the central region to head the government the BJP has brought about the much awaited generational change in the state leadership. For the past 25 years the state was being ruled by two political heavy weights Virbhadra Singh and P.K.Dhumal who pursued populist policies to the hilt. A new leader in the saddle is expected to break from the traditional politics of populism pursued by his predecessors and herald a new era of development in the hill state with progressive policies and good governance. The people of the state, particularly the younger lot, have high hopes from him. He has already indicated that youth will be at the centre of his government's policies and programmes. Multiple challenges Jai Ram in the Vidhan Sabha However, given the multiple challenges the state faces it will be a daunting task to fulfil the aspiration of the people. The fund-starved state is reeling under a huge debt of over Rs 49,000 crore and the revenue gap is likely to widen due to the economic slowdown caused by demonetisation and implementation of GST. The first budget presented by Jai Ram brought out a true picture of the state's precarious financial health and gave some indication of his priorities and strategy he is going to adopt to tackle the major problems. The first budget presented by Jai Ram brought out a true picture of the state's precarious financial health and gave some indication of his priorities and strategy he is going to adopt to tackle the major problems. Unsustainable debt The figures made it evident that the high level of debt was becoming unsustainable given the limited scope for resource mobilisation in the special category state, largely dependent on Central assistance. While the outgo on account of salaries, pension and interest payments will jump from Rs 18,724 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 26,053 crore in 2021-22 , an increase of Rs 7,329 crore , the state's own tax and non-tax revenue is estimated to go up only by Rs 4396 crore from Rs 9,520 crore to Rs 13,916 crore over the period. Thus, the revenue gap will continue to widen and state will have to raise more loans, besides banking on additional support from the Centre. In this rather grave financial scenario Jai Ram will have to bring in a new vision to take the state forward on the road to development and take steps to raise state's own resources. Besides restoring fiscal stability; he has to tackle the problem of unemployment, which already seems intractable, with number of jobless crossing over the 10 lakh mark. There is little scope of employment in the heavily over-staffed government sector and, in fact, state needs to downsize the heavy administrative set up. Biggest assets Spelling out his approach Jai Ram said the youth power and the clean hill environment were the most important assets of the state. The strategy would be to transform the vast youth power into engine for economic growth by focussing on their all-round development, particularly entrepreneurial skills, and provide financial and other support to enable them to start their own ventures in eco-friendly sectors. Comprehensive policy framework would be put in place to promote economic activity in eco-friendly sectors like tourism, agriculture, horticulture, adventure sports, renewable energy for which the state has huge potential. All the policies and programmes would be formulated with a view to involving youths and preserving the fragile environment. He said the government was finalising a Rs 640-crore Asian Development Bank-funded skill development project and an amount of Rs 100 crore had been earmarked in the budget for skill development. He had already announced "Yuva Ajivika Yojna" under which the youths in the age group of 18 to 35 years would be entitled to 5 per cent subsidy on loan. The existing eco-tourism policy will be reviewed to ensure that it benefits the local people the most. The government was in the process of framing a film policy and a sports policy. Traditional sports like kabaddi, kho-kho and wrestling, which have remained neglected, would be promoted in a big way to channelise the energy of rural youth. A sports policy was being finalised and the government was pondering over a proposal to set up a sports university. The existing ecotourism policy will be reviewed to ensure that it benefits the local people the most. The government was in the process of framing a film policy and a sports policy. Traditional sports like kabaddi, khokho and wrestling, which have remained neglected, would be promoted in a big way to channelise the energy of rural youth. A sports policy was being finalised and the government was pondering over a proposal to set up a sports university. Organic state In a predominantly rural state, where 89 per cent population lives in villages, inclusive growth could be ensured only by boosting agriculture and horticulture. His plan was to follow Sikkim and make Himachal an "organic state" in line with the broader objective to preserve the environment, Jai Ram explained. He said he had given major thrust to agriculture and the rural sectors in the budget. The subsidy on green house had been raised from 50 to 75 per cent and the outlay for providing subsidy on anti-hail net had been increased from Rs 2 crore to Rs 10 crore. Further 60 percent subsidy would be provided for anti-hail guns and 85 percent for solar fencing to keep stray animals away from crops. A new "flow irrigation scheme" had been launched with an outlay of Rs 150 crore for next five years and a " Solar Irrigation Scheme" with a budget outlay of Rs 200 crore has also been announced. Farmers would be provided electricity for irrigation purpose at 75 paisa per unit instead of the existing Re 1 per unit. A sum of Rs 150 crore had been set apart for opening and up gradation of agriculture markets and the crop insurance scheme had been extended to all the districts. Tourism The initiative taken by the Modi government at the Centre to upgrade and expand road infrastructure and start low-cost flights under the "Udaan" regional connectivity scheme would immensely help in boosting tourism in the state which has scant rail network. The Centre had in principle approved 69 new national highways and work on three major four-laning projects is underway. Improved connectivity would make most areas of the state easily accessible and "remoteness" would not discourage tourists from visiting the state, Jai Ram points out. The government would also make efforts to bring IT industry to the state to create employment opportunities for educated youth. With abundant power, stable and expansive telecom network, better air-connectivity and peaceful environment the IT industry will not have any issues, he feels. Jai Ram has just completed three months in office and he is still in the process of settling down. It will take him a while to assert his authority and take command of the bureaucracy without which it will not be possible translate his plans into reality.