200% hike for city MLAs

After Members of Parliament (MPs), it is the turn of the Delhi Assembly members to get a salary hike. HT reports.

After Members of Parliament (MPs), it is the turn of the Delhi Assembly members to get a salary hike.

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The Delhi Cabinet has approved an almost 200 per cent salary hike for Delhi MLAs. The Cabinet has also given its nod to the proposal to provide personal assistants to all MLAs, free DTC passes, travel in Delhi Metro of up to R1,000 a month and a pension increase.

Officials said a committee of legislators had advocated a huge increase in their salary last year claiming that Delhi was the country's most expensive city.

The legislators had closely read the salary pattern of the legislators of Goa and Punjab and had suggested increase in salaries and perks enjoyed by the 70 MLAs of Delhi.

According to the proposal, an MLA's salary would go up from R42,000 to between R80,000 and R90,000 per month. The salary of the CM and her six cabinet colleagues is likely to increase from R46,000 to R1.25 lakh a month.

The report also suggested an increase in daily allowance from R500 to R1,000 (subject to maximum up to 40 days).

The constituency allowance of legislators has also been proposed to increase from R8,000 to R25,000.

The report has also proposed rent-free furnished home for ministers or R25,000 per month (in place of the existing R10,000) as compensatory allowance if residential facility is not availed.

According to a senior Delhi government official, the final draft of the proposal was sent to all the ministers last week and they cleared it individually.

The proposal has now been sent to Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna and would soon be sent to the Ministry of Home affairs, the official added.

The Cabinet has also cleared an amendment in the Members of Legislative Assembly of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Salaries, Allowances, Pension) Act 1994 and the Ministers of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Salaries and Allowances) Act 1994.