Around 225,000 government employees and some 150,000 pensioners in Himachal Pradesh are likely to get a huge pay rise after the Lok Sabha elections.
The Himachal government has always followed the recommendations of neighbouring Punjab.
The Sixth Punjab Pay Commission has submitted its report earlier this week, which includes raising salaries by up to 27 per cent besides raising the age of retirement from 58 to 60.
The Punjab pay recommendations is considered one of the highest among state governments in the country.
Official sources say the pay rise will put an annual burden of about Rs 1,000 crore on the state exchequer.The hill state is already reeling under a debt burden of Rs 24,000 crore.
Having one of the highest ratio of government employees in the country, the hill state currently spends Rs 3,748 crore on salaries and another Rs 1,200 on pensions every year.