Why Finance Commission’s Grants to Cities Remain Limited
Can cities plan their future when most funds are tied to Central conditions?
Tikender Singh Panwar
Former Deputy Mayor of Shimla and Visiting Senior Fellow at IMPRI
Opening the Hills: The Ecological Cost of Land Reform
The Himachal Pradesh government has again opened the debate on relaxing Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972 — a provision that has, for five decades, protected the state's most sacred resource: its land. Under this Section, a non-agriculturist cannot buy land in Himachal without prior permission from the state government. This legislative instrument ensures that land is not reduced to a commodity but continues to embody livelihood, culture and ecological balance.Today, in the name of "encouraging investment, industry, tourism and housing", the state government is tempted to loosen this protective clause. But to tamper with Section 118 is to play with fire.
What the Budget Holds for Urban India?
Tikender Singh Panwar The Union Budget 2026 has cut urban development allocations by 11.6%, lowering funding from ₹96,777 crore to ₹85,522 crore. This reduction raises concerns about the sustainability of essential services amid rising challenges such as mass migration, climate…
Chalaunthi’s Cracks: A Warning From the Lesser Himalaya
Tikender Singh Panwar The cracks will travel – from Chalaunthi to Shimla, from Shimla to Kullu, from Kullu to the upper valleys – until the Lesser Himalaya responds not with fissures, but with collapse. The mountain has already spoken. Chalaunthi…
Local Costs, Central Gains: RDG Cuts and Himachal’s Fiscal Strain
Revenues flow overwhelmingly to Central utilities. The resource is local. The land is local. The risks are local. The profits are not.
Selling Survival: What Air and Water Reveal About State Failure
Delhi’s air crisis is not an isolated failure. It is part of a larger civilisational collapse, one where the state has quietly surrendered its most fundamental duty: safeguarding the commons.