Odisha MLAs to get Rs 1L/month as salary & allowances

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government on Friday introduced four separate bills in the House seeking enhancement of salary, allowances and pension of the members of the legislative assembly, speaker, deputy speaker and ministers. According to provisions of the bill, a member of the Assembly would get about Rs 1 lakh per month as salary and allowances while a minister will get Rs 97,000 and Chief Minister to avail monthly salary of Rs 98,000.

Similarly, the monthly salary and allowances of speaker and deputy speaker would be Rs 97,500 and 95,000 per month. While the government chief whip would draw a monthly salary of Rs 97,000 per month, deputy government chief whip would get Rs 93,000 per month. According to provisions, the salary of the MLAs would go up to Rs 25,000 per month against current amount of Rs 16,000 per month. Similarly, their conveyance allowance has been more than doubled taking the amount to Rs 15,000 per month from Rs 7,000 per month.

The MLAs last got a pay hike in 2011 when the monthly package shot up almost three-fold from Rs 21,950 per month to Rs 60,000. Monthly salary and allowances of chief minister include salary, car allowance and sumptuary allowance has been revised from Rs 59,000 to Rs 98,000 per month.

The cabinet ministers would receive revised salary and allowances of Rs 97,000 per month while the ministers of state would get Rs 95,000 per month. The leader of opposition would receive the salary and allowances at par with a cabinet minister.

The new salary and allowances for MLAs and others to be effective from January 1, 2017, said Parliamentary Affairs Minister B K Arukha.

The four Bills, The Odisha Legislative Assembly Members' Salary, Allowance and Pension (Amendment) Bill, 2017, The Odisha Legislative Assembly Speaker's Salary and Allowance (Amendment) Bill, 2017, The Odisha Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker's Salary and Allowance (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and The Odisha Ministers' Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2017, introduced by Arukha was refereed to the BACK for fixing a date and time for their passing in the House.