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State lawmakers on cloud nine over fat pay packet
The salaries and allowances of MLAs and MLCs in Telangana State are set for a more than two-fold hike as the Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill in this regard.
Hyderabad: The salaries and allowances of MLAs and MLCs in Telangana State are set for a more than two-fold hike as the Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill in this regard. The passage of Telangana Payment of Salaries and Pension and Removal of Disqualifications (Amendment) Bill-2016 came close on the heels of the Committee on Amenities of the Telangana State Legislature unanimously deciding to recommend increase in the salary and other allowances on March 21.
It is estimated that the hike would cause a recurring expenditure of Rs 42.67 crores a year, according to the Financial Memorandum in the Bill. The legislators' gross salary would now go up to Rs 2.30 lakh a month from the present Rs 95,000 a month (including allowances).
A pension of Rs 30,000 has also been proposed for ex-legislators. Legislature Affairs Minister T Harish Rao, who moved the Bill, said the hike was being made as per requests made to the government in last one-and-half year by MLAs and MLCs.
Observing that the hike was necessary for people like him who came from humble back ground, Congress member Sampath Kumar said his party welcomed the bill. BJP member Ch Ramachandra Reddy also sought a hike in the vehicle loan.
Noting that economic dynamics had undergone a sea change over the years, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said the legislators have to bear costs for attending a number of meetings of the government, Zilla Parishad and others and on taking care of number of visitors every day.
They also have to bear the costs involved in travelling within the constituency, to the district headquarters and also the State capital, he said. Referring to the debate in media on salary hike for MLAs and MLCs, KCR also made an appeal to the media persons to understand the prevailing situation.
The estimated expenditure of Rs 42 crores would not constitute even the perceptible percentage of the State budget of more than Rs one lakh crore, he said. Earlier, Congress member Sampath Kumar said , “I am a son of a teacher and when people come to me I have to take care of their food and basic needs.”
BJP member Ch Ramachandra Reddy said the expenditure varied between city MLAs and rural MLAs. He felt that it would be difficult to find a house on rent for Rs 25,000 and hence wanted higher house rent allowance. He said there were festivals like Bonalu, Ganesh, Vijayadashimi for which they were forced to spend money.
He also wanted the government to increase the car loan facility from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 40 lakhs. On the appeal by some members, the Chief Minister also said that the government had no objection to raise the loan limit since it was payable by the member. He said that the pension for former MLAs would be Rs 30,000 for one term and Rs 5,000 for each term would be added with a highest cap of Rs 50,000.
