Shimla, Nov 3,

A group of 103 retired civil servants has urged the 16th Finance Commission, headed by Dr. Arvind Panagariya, to recognise the vital ecological contribution of Himalayan states and compensate them accordingly. Writing under the banner of the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), the former officers have called for a substantial “Green Fund” or “Green Bonus” to support states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim, which they described as “India’s climate shield.”

In a detailed representation sent to the Finance Commission on November 3, the CCG said that the survival of the Himalayan ecosystem has become a national imperative. They cautioned that the region is “slowly going to pieces” under the strain of flash floods, cloudbursts, land subsidence and

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