The Delhi Assembly passed five bills increasing the salary and allowances of the legislators from Rs 54,000 to Rs 90,000 per month. MLAs in Telangana and Maharashtra receive much more — Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 2.3 lakh respectively
The Delhi Assembly, which has 62 Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP MLAs, passed five bills for increasing the salary of legislators and of ministers and other senior functionaries. PTI
Legislators in Delhi just got richer!
On Monday, the Delhi Assembly passed five bills for increasing the salary of legislators by nearly 66 per cent and that of ministers and other senior functionaries by over 100 per cent.
The hike in pay, which is now awaiting the President’s nod, comes after a gap of 11 years. Proposals were sent earlier by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government but they were not approved by the Centre.
We take a closer look at just how much do Delhi MLAs earn in comparison to other state MLAs and the laws around them.
How are MLAs paid?
The matter of salaries for Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) is mentioned in Article 106 of the Constitution of India. It states that MPs and MLAs should be provided with the salaries, perquisites, and other allowances from time to time.
In most states in India, state legislators decide their salaries and allowances, by passing a law in their respective state legislatures.
In February, Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed two bills, increasing the salaries and allowances of the chief minister, ministers, and legislators in the state by 50 per cent.
Delhi MLAs’ pay hike
On Monday, after three hours of debate and discussion by the members of the Legislative Assembly, five different bills were tabled and passed in the House on the first day of the monsoon session.
With the passage of the Bills, the path has been paved for effecting a significant increase in the salaries of MLAs as well as other functionaries.
Once the proposal is approved by the Union government, the salary of MLAs will be bumped up to Rs 90,000 from the existing Rs 54,000. Their basic pay has increased from Rs 12,000 per month to Rs 30,000 per month.
As per the salary breakup shared by Delhi government, their constituency allowance has increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000; telephone bill from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000. Secretariat allowance has been increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. If approved, travel facilities of MLAs will also increase from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
Delhi’s deputy chief minister and finance minister Manish Sisodia said that the move was necessary to attract talented people to politics. “To invite talented people into politics, there has to be rewards. The corporates get talented pool of people because of the salaries,” he said.
The hike was also necessitated owing to the higher cost of living and because the salary of Delhi MLAs was among the lowest in the country for the public functionaries.
According to a report in The Wire, Sisodia also recalled how the Union government had objected to a similar increase in the salary and allowances of MLAs seven years ago. “The Central government had a few objections seven years ago. After incorporating their suggestions, Delhi Assembly has once again passed this bill and hopes for the Centre to pass it.”
Other state MLAs
The AAP government said that even with the 66 per cent pay hike, Delhi MLAs are still among the lowest as compared to their counterparts in other states.
Data provided by PRS Legislative, a non-profit organisation, reveals just how much do MLAs earn.
As per the figures provided, the salary of a Telangana MLA is Rs 20,000 but the constituency allowance stands at Rs 2.3 lakh whereas there are allowances also on accommodation if it is not provided by the government.
Maharashtra MLAs receive a salary of Rs 2.3 lakh and also get coupons worth Rs 15,000 for rail travel within the state and coupons of the same amount for travel outside the state.
In Uttar Pradesh, MLAs get Rs 1.87 lakh per month, which includes their salary and allowances.
The salaries of MLAs in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Chhatisgarh, Mizoram and West Bengal stand at Rs 12,000, Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000, Rs 25,000, Rs 80,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.
MLAs in Andhra receive a constituency allowance of Rs 1.13, which makes their cumulative salary stand at Rs 1.25 lakh.
Similarly, the constituency allowance for Tamil Nadu is Rs 25,000, taking the total pay to Rs 1.13 lakh.
Uttarakhand MLAs get a full salary of Rs Rs 1.82 lakh while those of the AAP ruled Punjab is near Rs 95,000. The Mizoram MLAs draw close to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Himachal Pradesh MLAs draw a salary of Rs 55,000 while the constituency allowance, daily allowance, secretarial allowance, telephone allowance stand at Rs 90,000, Rs 1,800, Rs 30,000, Rs 15,000, respectively.
The salary of Kerala MLAs is lower than Delhi MLAs and is a meagre Rs 2,000 while they do not have a secretarial allowance whereas the constituency allowance stands at Rs 25,000, according to PRS.
Tripura MLAs get Rs 48,420 per month while legislators of West Bengal get Rs 81,870 per month.
With inputs from agencies
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