Bhubaneswar: The Zero Hour in Odisha Assembly saw legislators demanding a pay hike, citing the rising cost of living. “As there has been a price escalation in the market, the salary of MLAs should also increase accordingly,” Opposition Whip from BJP Mohan Majhi said while pointing out that the legislators’ salaries and travel allowance were previously raised in September 2017.
The salary of Odisha MLAs is far less compared to many other states, he further argued.
Supporting BJP members’ demand, Congress whip Taraprasad Bahinipati said lawmakers travel a lot to attend various programmes but they receive less amount as compared to such expenses. He also sought a hike in the pension of ex-MLAs in view of the inflation as his party MLA Suresh Routray claimed that their financial condition is “precarious” and many of them are facing “problems in getting proper treatment”.
In Odisha, the MLAs currently draw a salary of Rs 35,000 salary the constituency allowance stands at Rs 65000, working out to around Rs 1 lakh a month. This excludes daily allowances of Rs 1,500 when the assembly is in session and Rs 2,000 a day while travelling outside the state.
So, the question is that how much money do MLAs in other states really make?
The salary of an MLA in Chhattisgarh was hiked to Rs 1.60 lakh a month, up by Rs 50,000, after the assembly passed a bill on July 26.
On July 4, the Delhi assembly passed a bill to hike the salaries and allowances of MLAs by over 66 per cent. While the proposed hike raises the salary of MLAs from Rs 54,000 a month to Rs 90,000, the lawmakers of the national capital will continue to draw lower salaries than their counterparts.
According to data from PRS Legislative, an independent research institute, the salary of a Telangana MLA is Rs 20,000 but the constituency allowance stands at Rs 2.3 lakh, taking the total to Rs 2.5 lakh, the highest in the country.
The monthly payment is equally high in Karnataka, where MLAs draw Rs 2.05 lakh in total. Uttar Pradesh (Rs 1.87 lakh); Bihar (Rs 1.65 lakh); Jammu and Kashmir (Rs 1.60 lakh); and Maharashtra (Rs 1.60 lakh) also fall in this bracket.
The salary of an MLA in Andhra Pradesh Rs 12,000 while constituency allowance stands at Rs 1.13 lakh
Himachal Pradesh MLAs draw a salary of Rs 55,000 while the constituency allowance, daily allowance, secretarial allowance, telephone allowance stand at Rs 90,000, Rs 1,800, Rs 30,000 and Rs 15,000, respectively.
At Rs 2,000, the base salary of Kerala MLAs is among the lowest in the country. They do not have a secretarial allowance whereas the constituency allowance stands at rs 25,000, according to PRS.
Apart from the monthly salary, an MLA gets funds for the development of the area, which ranges from Rs 1 crore to Rs 8 crore every year.
