Thiruvananthapuram: The Payment of Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to increase the salaries and allowances of ministers and MLAs, was introduced in the Assembly on Tuesday. The monthly salaries and allowances of ministers, the Speaker, the deputy speaker, the opposition leader and the chief whip had been increased to Rs 93,000 from Rs 44,500, a rise of 108 percent. That of MLAs have been increased to Rs 70,000 from Rs 39,500,an increase of 77 percent.
This increase does not include the enhanced accident insurance, a new provision for air journey, the newly-introduced interest-free vehicle advance and building advance at a reduced rate for ministers, and enhanced incidental expenses for train and road journeys both within and outside the state. The salaries and allowances alone will put an additional recurring monthly burden of Rs 5.26 crore on the exchequer.
However, the additional expenditure on account of the introduction of new facilities like interest-free vehicle loan has not been estimated. The Bill has been referred to the Subject Committee. The last revision of salaries and allowances was made in 2012. “During the last five years, the price of all commodities including petrol, diesel, electricity, etc have increased manifold,” the Bill states in its Statement of Objects and Reasons. This prompted the appointment of retired judge J M James as a single-member commission to recommend the revision. The Commission submitted its report on August 22, 2017.
