Himachal govt defers 30 per cent salary of top officials for six months

The Himachal Pradesh Government has deferred salaries of officers and employees for six months from May 2026 to manage finances. Higher officials face up to 30% deferment, with assurances of later release and no impact on benefits

Shimla: A portion of the salaries of officers and employees of the Himachal Pradesh government has been deferred for six months to efficiently manage financial resources, according to a notification issued by the Finance Department on Sunday.

According to the notification, the deferment will be effective from May, 2026 and is temporary in nature.
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.

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The payable and deferred components of salary will be reflected in the e-salary system and pay slips to ensure transparency, and the deferred portion of salary shall be reckoned for all purposes like pensioner benefits, leave encashment and others as per relevant rules, the notification said.
Statutory deductions, including income tax, contributions towards pension schemes and provident fund, will continue to be regulated as per the applicable rules on the full amount only to avoid future accounting issues.

The deferment amount will be calculated on the net salary after payment of tax, National Pension System (NPS), Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), General Provident Fund (GPF) and other fixed deductions.
The employees who are servicing loan instalments can submit an undertaking to the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO), and the deferment will be calculated on the pay remaining after deduction of the loan instalment amount, the order said.

Boards, corporations, PSUs, autonomous bodies, universities and other major societies that receive grant-in-aid or any kind of budgetary support from the state government shall also adopt this decision in line with the government.

The notification added that this measure is temporary in nature and is being undertaken as a collective effort to manage financial resources efficiently. 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.
Presenting the budget for the financial year 2026-27, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had on March 21 announced deferment in the salaries of the chief minister, ministers, MLAs and officers.
The state government had also deferred 50 per cent of the chief minister’s salary, 30 per cent of cabinet ministers and 20 per cent of members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) for six months.