The Telangana Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a Bill to effect a handsome hike in the salaries of the legislators, including the Chief Minister and the Presiding Officers of both the Houses of the legislature.
Earlier, Minister for Legislative Affairs T Harish Rao introduced the Telangana Payment of Salaries and Pensions and Removal of Disqualifications (Amendment) Bill 2016 as per a recommendation of the Committee on Amenities of the Telangana Legislature which met on March 21.
With the unanimous passage of the bill the salaries of the legislators would increase three-fold.
It was estimated that the hike would cost the exchequer an additional Rs. 42.67 crores per annum.
Rao said that the hike was being made as per the requests made to the government in the last one-and-a-half years by the legislators of a majority of the Parties.
Observing that the hike was necessary for people like him, who came from a humble background, Congress member Sampath Kumar said that his Party welcomed the bill in toto.
BJP member Chintala Ramachandra Reddy sought hikes in the vehicle loans as well as in the allowances.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said that the costs of being a legislator had undergone a sea-change over the years. He pointed out that the legislators needed to attend a number of meetings of the government, Zilla Parishads and others, besides taking care of a number of visitors everyday. They also needed to bear the costs involved in travelling within the constituency, to the district headquarters and also the State capital, he said.
He also made an appeal to the media to understand the prevailing situation as the estimated additional expenditure of Rs 42 crores did not constitute any perceptible percentage of the State budget.
Responding to suggestions made by several members to hike the pensions of the former legislators, the Chief Minister said that the issue would be discussed in the next session and a favorable decision would be taken.
He also assured the members that amendments if any could be made in the next session.
The MLAs and MLCs will now get a monthly salary of Rs 2.5 lakhs including a basic pay of Rs 20,000 and a constituency allowance of Rs 2.3 lakhs, as against the existing salary of Rs 95,000.
Ministers, the Chief Whip and Whips will get Rs 4 lakhs, including a basic pay of Rs 30,000, a constituency allowance of Rs 2.3 lakh, a special allowance of Rs 8,000, a personal allowance of Rs 7,000, a camp office allowance of Rs 10,000, a security car allowance of Rs 25,000, an own vehicle allowance of Rs 30,000, a fuel allowance of Rs 10,000 and a house rent allowance of Rs 50,000. Currently, they are drawing a monthly salary of Rs 2.42 lakhs.
The Chief Minister will get a total salary of Rs 4.21 lakhs, including a basic pay of Rs 51,000, a constituency allowance of Rs 2.3 lakh, a special allowance of Rs 8,000, a personal allowance of Rs 7,000, a camp office allowance of Rs 10,000, a security car allowance of Rs 25,000, an own vehicle allowance of Rs 30,000, a fuel allowance of Rs 10,000 and a house rent allowance of Rs 50,000. The existing salary of the Chief Minister is Rs 2.44 lakhs per month.
The Assembly Speaker and Council Chairman will now get Rs 4.11 lakhs per month as against the present salary of Rs 2.42 lakhs.