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Nine years at helm: Khattar hikes honorarium for zila parishad representatives, MC employees
The chief minister announced a two-fold hike in honorarium for mayors, chairpersons, and members of municipal corporations, councils, and committees
: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who on Thursday clocked nine years at the helm, loosened the purse strings for the public representatives of zila parishad, civic bodies and the government employees as the BJP-JJP government enters the final year of its term and gears up for the Lok Sabha slugfest followed by assembly polls next year.
Addressing a press conference here, the chief minister also announced 4% hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) of the state government employees and that the pension of ‘Hindi movement satyagrahis and emergency victims’ will be increased from ₹10,000 to ₹15,000.
The honorarium of elected representatives of the municipal corporations, municipal councils, and committees has been almost doubled and it will be applicable with effect from October 1, 2023.
Haryana has at least 10 municipal corporations, 18 municipal councils, 56 municipal committees and 22 zila parishads.
The honorarium of zila parishad chairperson, vice chairman and members has been doubled as the zila parishad chairman will receive ₹20,000, up from ₹10,000. The vice-chairman’s honorarium has been increased from ₹7,500 to ₹15,000, and that of members from ₹3,000 to ₹6,000.
Similarly, the monthly honorarium of mayors has been increased from existing ₹20,500 to ₹30,000. The senior deputy mayor’s honorarium stands increased from ₹16,500 to ₹25,000, while the deputy mayor’s honorarium has been increased from ₹13,000 to ₹20,000. The honorarium of MC councillors has been increased from ₹10,500 to ₹15,000.
The chief minister said president of municipal council will get ₹18,000 in place of earlier ₹10,500 and that vice-president and councillors will get an increased honorarium of ₹12,000 respectively in place of ₹7,500.
Khattar said that president of municipal committee will get ₹10,000 per month in place of earlier ₹6,500. The honorarium of vice-president has been increased from ₹4,500 to ₹8,000 and that of councillors from ₹4,500 to ₹8,000.
Also, the honorarium for chairperson of panchayat samiti has been increased from ₹7,500 to ₹15,000, vice-chairperson from ₹3,500 to ₹7,000, and members from ₹1,600 to ₹3,000.
The chief minister said that the state government is now providing a monthly pension of ₹10,000 to those who participated in the Hindi Movement of 1957 and emergency victims. This amount has now been increased to ₹15,000.
The chief minister said that from Thursday onwards, 42,431 new Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) verified beneficiaries will receive the old age pension benefit. This automated pension system has made it easier for people to avail government benefits without having to visit government offices, he said.
Khattar said the Central government had increased the DA for government employees from 42% to 46% and that starting from July 1, 2023, nearly 3.5 lakh employees in Haryana will receive an additional 4% DA.
Education minister Kanwar Pal, chief principal secretary (to CM) Rajesh Khullar, additional chief secretary (ACS-environment, forest and wildlife) Vineet Garg, were among others present on this occasion.
Pension for trees
Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who had launched ‘Pran Vayu Devta Pension Scheme’ on Thursday said that annual ₹2,750 pension will be released for the upkeep of over 3,810 identified trees which are above the age of 75 years. This pension will be paid to individuals, panchayats and schools where these trees are located.
The Haryana government had launched this scheme to identify old trees and encourage people with monetary incentive to protect them. Khattar said Haryana is the first state in the country to implement such a scheme, aiming to preserve trees aged 75 years and above. To be eligible for this scheme, landowners with trees aged 75 years or older on their properties have to submit applications to the forest department.
The annual pension of ₹2,750 for these trees will be deposited in the guardian’s account for the tree’s maintenance and care. The pension amount will see annual increments, akin to an old-age samman allowance. The selected trees represent approximately 40 diverse species, including peepal, banyan, neem, mango, jaal, gular, krishna kadamba, and pilkhan, among others, each with substantial ecological significance. These aged trees are located in various types of land, from private and panchayat holdings to institutional and government properties. Trees located in forested areas are not covered by this scheme.
Six toll plazas closed
Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced the closure of six toll plazas located on state highways. Three toll plazas are located at Bisharpur (Narnaual-Nizampur road) village near Rajasthan border, Tatiana village (Kaithal-Patiala Road) near Punjab border, and Gujjarwas village (Subana-Kosli-Nahar-Kanina road). They will cease operations from November 1, 2023.
Similarly, toll plaza at Sangatpura village (Kaithal-Khannori road) near Punjab border will be closed from November 10, while toll plazas at Ashgarpur village (Kalaamb–Sadhaura-Shahbad road) near Himachal Pradesh Border and at Ferozepur village (Rohtak-Kharkhoda-Delhi road) near Delhi border would be shut down on December 1, 2023.
The decision to close these toll plazas comes in response to demands from people residing in the nearby areas.
