Kerala govt appoints panel to revise salaries of ministers, MLAs

The last raise in remuneration of legislators, ministers and other representatives in Kerala was done in 2018

A day after the Chhattisgarh government passed bills to hike remuneration for legislators, the Kerala government on Wednesday decided to appoint a one-man commission to review salaries and perks of people’s representatives, a senior government official said.

The government appointed a commission under retired justice Ramachandran and a report has been sought in six months, he said. The last raise in remuneration of legislators, ministers and other representatives in Kerala was done in 2018.

Many ministers pointed out during a cabinet meeting that the salaries of government employees and others were hiked substantially and they also needed a raise to meet the cost of living.

In 2018, monthly salaries of the ministers were increased from ₹55,000 to ₹80,000, and that of legislators from ₹40,000 to ₹70,000. Besides this, travel allowances of ministers were raised from ₹10 to ₹15 per km.

Many states, including Karnataka and Delhi, recently revised salaries of ministers and legislators. In the first week of July, the Delhi assembly passed a bill allowing a 66 per cent hike in salaries and allowances of its members, the first raise in 11 years.

Meanwhile, social activists in Kerala criticised the move at a time when the state is allegedly undergoing a severe economic crisis. “The government tells everyone to cut down expenditures, but it is spending money ostentatiously. We heard that official vehicles of many ministers will be replaced,” said activist Dijo C Kappan. The state’s cumulative debt crossed ₹3.32 crore in March and its debt to GSDP (gross state domestic product) ratio witnessed an abnormal increase in the last two years.

Kerala finance minister KN Balagopal sent a letter to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman two days ago, requesting her to not consider liabilities of state entities while determining the net borrowing capacity of the state.

He claimed that combining the debt of statutory bodies and companies with that of the state government was contrary to the provisions of the Constitution, will imperil the borrowing powers of the state and jeopardise its developmental plans.

Balagopal said that the state’s annual revenue was dropped by ₹23,000 crore due to various measures taken by the central government. Recently, the Centre slashed ₹14,000 crore of off-budget borrowing in the net borrowing ceiling of the state, citing loans availed by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board and the Kerala Social Security Pension Limited.