The Himachal Pradesh government’s push for ‘Vyavastha Parivartan’ amid a deepening financial crisis left the serving government employees and job-seeking youth in the government sector largely unhappy for many reasons.
Despite the Congress party’s pre-poll promises—including the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), providing one lakh government jobs in the first Cabinet meeting, and five lakh jobs over five years—the administration now faces criticism for allegedly diluting the quality of government employment. Allegations range from the withdrawal of existing benefits and modifications in service conditions to offering new appointments on reduced salaries.
Himachal Pradesh, with limited revenue sources and a heavy reliance on Central funding, is grappling with a debt exceeding ₹1 lakh crore. The state employs over 3 lakh people in the government sector, including Boards and Corporations, as private sector opportunities remain scarce in the state—particularly due to the lack of high-end industrial jobs.
While the current Congress government fulfilled its key poll promise by reinstating the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for 1.36 lakh employees shortly after taking office in December 2022, it is now facing criticism for allegedly withdrawing several long-standing benefits. This has led to legal challenges across multiple areas, as employees are upset with the government blaming it for systematically undermining their service conditions.
Serving employees in Himachal Pradesh are expressing discontent as the state government moves to withdraw contract service benefits provided after regularisation, with the changes set to apply retroactively from 2003. The government’s decision to overhaul the recruitment process, replacing contract appointments with provisional five-year terms on lower salaries, has further dampened hopes of the youth for government jobs. Despite promises made by the Congress government, minimal job creation has occurred since its December 2022 takeover. Additionally, concerns are rising among serving employees regarding the reduction of post-retirement benefits.
"It's baffling that instead of fixing what's going wrong; the government is disrupting what is already functioning well. They are undermining established systems. It's painfull to see government employees being suspended and charged for peacefully protesting to demand their rightful dues," said several retired employee leaders who have been advocating for justice during their tenure.
They said for the first time, officers facing allegations of corruption are not being held accountable, while the employees beneath them are being harassed. "Whether it’s the case of Power Corporation engineer Vimal Negi, who tragically took his own life, or the recent instance of a Sub Divisional Magistrate in Dharamshala seeking voluntary retirement due to repeated transfers, such incidents never occurred in Himachal before. And surprisingly, nothing is being heard in the corridors of power," they remarked. The common feeling is that some select bureaucrats are having their ‘say’ in all matters and they tend to misguide the political leadership on many issues, which is resulting in widening the rift between the government and the employees.
While the youth of Himachal are already getting impatient over the delays in government appointments, Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s statement that a cabinet sub-committee has suggested that the tenure of service with full pension eligibility be extended from 20 years to 25 years now has further triggered resentment, as the average age of getting a proper government job in Himachal Pradesh is reaching mid or late 30s now and 25 years of service would only be a dream for many in the times to come.
“The political parties kept exploiting the youths that they would bring out proper outsource policy to absorb those working on outsource basis in different government departments. There are many who are working on an outsource basis for the last 8-10 years or even more. And they have no future as many of them have crossed the maximum age limit for a government job. They don’t have any government benefits, no salary hikes. They are totally insecure as a third party recruits them or the government. Who would compensate them? What kind of jobs this highly literate state is offering to the potential educated youth, who have no option but either to go out of state to look for job or work at low salaries,” said Raman, a post graduate in a professional course, who is waiting for a government job for last six years and can’t go out of state for job, given the situation back home.
All said and done, Himachal Pradesh, which was once a state reckoned for best services in the government sector, is going down in all parameters of development, whether education, health, infrastructure or welfare, with different departments running with adhoc staff arrangements with successive governments unable to work out the system and funds to fill the vacancies essential to run the state. Only yesterday, April 30, 2025, 1500 government employees in different departments retired. It happens every month. And unable to handle the burden of retirements and the filling up of new vacancies, the government has now started a new talk—to increase the retirement age of state government employees from 58 years to 59 years primarily in a bid to delay the payment of retirement benefits.
"It's not Vyavastha Parivartan, it's Vyavastha Patan. The Congress government has failed in every area and is driving the state downward, setting an example of poor governance," said Leader of Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur.
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