Shimla: The debt-ridden Congress-led government in Himachal Pradesh has doubled entry fee for wildlife parks and sanctuaries for Indian visitors from Rs 150 to Rs 300, sparking political storm and inviting criticism for Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government’s financial management.
The hilly state, where Assembly elections are scheduled next year, has increased the entry charges for foreign nationals into wildlife parks and sanctuaries to Rs 600 – a 100 per cent hike, said a BJP leader on Sunday.
BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, “Rahul Gandhi’s ‘khata-khat economic model’ has pushed Himachal Pradesh into darkness, and the Congress government is looting the people of the state.”
He also criticised the Congress government for increasing fees for entry into wildlife sanctuaries and forest areas for Indian citizens.
Himachal under Congress party has become a state that borrows to survive, taxes to compensate, and asks its people to pay for its own incompetence, said another BJP leader.
The state has a total of 28 wildlife sanctuaries with three in Shimla district. These include Shimla Water Catchment Wildlife Sanctuary, Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary and Talra Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Solan district has Chail Wildlife Sanctuary and Majathal Wildlife Sanctuary while Kullu district has Tirthan, Sainj, Kais, Kanawar, Khokhan and Manaliainj and Tirthan.
The notification hiking the entry fee was issued by Chief Secretary-cum-Additional Chief Secretary (Forests) K.K. Pant. The notification also raised the charges for professional photography and cinematography in these protected zones.
Many opposition leaders have blamed Congress government’s reckless fiscal management, for spiraling debt and financial load caused by attempts to fulfill populist electoral promises and deliver freebies.
As per CAG report, the overall outstanding debt of the state at the year ending 2023-24 was Rs 95,632 crore. The report also highlighted that a substantial proportion of public debt receipts was being used for the repayment of borrowings, which ranged between 52.99 per cent and 74.11 per cent during the 2019-2024 period.
Himachal Pradesh is among the highest debt-stressed states in the country. Chief Minister Sukhu informed the Legislative Assembly that the total debt, up to January 31, 2026, had reached approximately Rs 1.01 lakh crore.
In Himachal Pradesh’s Rs 58,514 crore Budget Estimate for 2025-26, nearly 70 per cent of the total budget was earmarked for salaries, pensions, interest payments, and debt repayment.
“A state government that spends two-thirds of its budget just to stay afloat has, for all practical purposes, stopped governing. It is merely surviving and charging its citizens for the privilege of watching it do so,” said a BJP leader.
He said that the wildlife sanctuary entry fee hike is not an isolated decision but the latest example of systematic pattern of cost-shifting that the Congress government in Himachal has practised since it took office.
Besides this, there are multiple instances of burden-shifting including 15 per cent bus fare hike in May 2025, power subsidy rollback in 2024, electricity tariff hike in 2023; ration price hike in 2024; increase in power and water cess in 2024 and introduction of milk cess of 10 paise per unit in 2024.
(IANS)
