Cash-strapped Himachal enhances salaries, allowances of MLAs
Despite fiscal challenges, Himachal Pradesh unanimously enhanced the salary and allowances of the Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) between 18% and 27%.
Despite fiscal challenges, Himachal Pradesh unanimously enhanced the salary and allowances of the Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) between 18% and 27%.
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu introduced the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Amendment Bill 2025 in the House on the last day of assembly’s budget session under supplementary agenda on Friday.
Through the amendments, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in the state has made a provision of hike in salary of MLAs after every 5 years by linking the salaries to price index. This is done as salary and allowances of the MLAs in Himachal were last increased in May 2016.
The hike in the salaries and allowance is expected to increase the financial burden on the state exchequer by approximately ₹24 crore annually. Though the state government has abolished the telephone allowance as well as the electricity and water bill allowance. The MLAs will have to pay these bills themselves. The telephone allowance of former MLAs has also been abolished.
The government argued that “due to sharp increase in the cost of living”, it has been considered to amend the provisions of the salaries and allowances.
Sukhu said, “MLAs have to spend more than their income as representatives in their constituencies, so salary hike is necessary from time to time”. “During the Covid pandemic, the MLAs had donated a large part of their salary, in which he himself gave ₹11,000”, said the CM while announcing abolition of government payment of electricity and water bills.
Leader of Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur while supporting the bill said, “When I had become an MLA for the first time, we used to get only ₹8,500, while his first mobile bill came to ₹12,000. In view of inflation in the current times, salary hike is necessary”.
Thakur, added, “The salaries and the allowances unlike other states has been hiked after 9 years. But with the hike the telephone allowance along electricity and water bills have been cut.”
The salaries, constituency allowance and office allowance of the MLAs has been raised from ₹55,000, ₹90,000 and ₹30,000 per month to ₹70,000, ₹1.20 lakh and ₹90,000 per month respectively while the daily allowance would be up from Rs1800 to ₹2000.
The salaries of CM, Cabinet ministers and Ministers of state has been hiked from ₹95,000, ₹80,000 and ₹78,000 to ₹1.15 lakh, ₹95,000 and ₹92 ,000 per month respectively and Salaries of Speaker and Deputy Speaker have been revised from ₹80,000 and ₹75,000 to ₹95,000 and ₹92,000 per month respectively.
The basic pension of first time MLA has been increased from ₹36,000 to ₹50,000 per month.
