Odisha: Committee formed to look into MLAs’ demands for salary hike

The Odisha assembly legislative advisory committee has sent a proposal to the speaker recommending that MLAs should get a salary of ₹2.5 lakh a month

Published on: Dec 16, 2022, 08:55:24 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A committee constituted by the Odisha assembly speaker to look into MLAs’ demands of salary hike has recommended that the monthly salary be raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹2.5 lakh.

In Sept 2017, the Odisha government had last raised the salaries of MLAs and ministers by over 50%. (File image)

The Odisha assembly legislative advisory committee has sent a proposal to the speaker recommending that MLAs should get a salary of ₹2.5 lakh a month while pension of former MLAs should be raised to ₹1lakh. Senior BJD MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy, who heads the committee, suggested that the salary should be raised.

Also Read: India records highest salary hike in 2022, races ahead of China: Report

In the assembly session, MLAs cutting across party lines had demanded that the salaries be increased in view of rising inflation.

“We have to spend a lot during travels to our constituencies. So, our salary also should be hiked in comparison to the salary of MLAs of other states,” said BJD MLA Debiprasad Mishra.

In September 2017, the Odisha government had last raised the salaries of MLAs and ministers by over 50%, taking it to ₹1 lakh per month, which includes ₹35,000 salary and ₹65,000 as allowances. This excludes a daily allowance of ₹1,500 per day while the House is in session, besides travel reimbursement for attending the sessions.

In 2019, an analysis by NGO Odisha Election Watch found that of the 147 MLAs elected, 95 were crorepatis, up from 20% in the previous assembly.

Of the 95 crorepatis, 79 were from BJD followed by 23 from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik was the wealthiest with total assets of ₹63.87 crore followed by health minister Naba Kisore Das and BJD MLA Saroj Kumar Meher.

Of the 95 crorepatis, 62 were from Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal and nine from the BJP .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More