New Delhi: A total sum of Rs 1,997 crore was spent towards salaries and perks of parliamentarians in the past four financial years, according to response to an RTI query.
While Rs 71.29 lakh was spent on an average for a member of Lok Sabha, Rs 44.33 lakh was spent on a Rajya Sabha member, the Lok Sabha secretariat said in response to the RTI application, filed in Indore by activist Chandra Shekhar Gaud. Lok Sabha has 545 members (543 elected and 2 nominated from the Anglo-Indian community by the President). Rajya Sabha has a strength of 245 members.
The Lok Sabha MPs got more than Rs 1,554 crore as emoluments in the past four financial years commencing from 2014-15. Each Lok Sabha member was paid average Rs 71,29,390 annually since fiscal 2014-15, it said.
Similarly, the members of Rajya Sabha got more than Rs 443 crore as emoluments in past four fiscals, it said. A break-up of the total amounts reveals that each Rajya Sabha MP received Rs 44,33,682 annually in the past four fiscals. Meanwhile, Jagdish Chhokar, founder member of the Association for Democratic Reform, an NGO, said the increasing burden on the government coffers in paying salaries and perks to MPs should be reviewed.
“There is no issue if the salary of MPs is hiked 10 times but they must not get reimbursements for transport, house, vehicle, food, medical, air travel, telephone and other things from the state exchequer,” he said.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced a 100 per cent salary hike for MPs in the Union budget 2018.
