Compensate Himalayan states to preserve ecology: Ex-bureaucrats tell finance commission

A group of retired civil servants and diplomats on Monday urged the 16th Finance Commission to compensate Himalayan states Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and Uttarakhand to preserve the ecology of the region.

They urged the commission to follow up and amplify the 12th Finance Commission’s concept of a “Green Bonus” that allocated funds proportional to the steps taken by the states for ecology and sustainability.

The commission, set up in December 2023, will recommend distribution of tax revenue between the Union government and the states for a five-year period between the financial years 2026-’27 and 2030-’31.

In a letter, the Constitutional Conduct Group said that the Himalayan states face a double whammy of financial compulsions. They have limited sources of income as they do not have an industrial or manufacturing base, services sector or surplus agriculture other than some fruit crops, thereby making potential employment bleak, the group said.

“On the other hand, the cost of providing basic development to the people is much higher than that of the plains because of topographical, connectivity and climatic reasons,” the statement added.

The former bureaucrats said that despite this, the states make a non-monetary, yet vital, contribution to the “country’s wellbeing, quality of life and in sectors like agriculture, climate control, hydel...

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