Assam government on Thursday proposed hike in the salaries of legislators – ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000. This is the second raise for members of the assembly since 2014.
A pay commission was set up by the assembly speaker this time instead of the of legislators recommending their own hikes.
The recommendation of the three-member pay commission, headed by former Chief Secretary PP Verma, was approved by the state cabinet on Wednesday and and was tabled in the house on Thursday in the form of a bill.
The chief minister’s basic salary is set to reach the six-figure mark, at Rs 1.3 lakh per month (excluding allowances), after a Rs 40,000-jump from the present Rs 90,000 per month. The biggest increase in the chief minister’s salary came in 2010, when it went up from Rs 16,000 to Rs 65,000. It has taken six decades for a CM’s monthly basic salary to touch the six-figure mark since 1958, when the salary was Rs 1000 per month, reports TOI.
Basic salary of the assembly speaker, the second highest earner after the chief minister, is proposed to go up to Rs 1.2 lakh from the present Rs 80,000 per month. The third highest paid representatives will be the leader of opposition and cabinet ministers, who are set to get Rs 1.1 lakh per month, up from Rs 80,000 at present. The proposed salary for ministers of state is Rs 1 lakh, up from Rs 75,000 while all other legislators are set to receive Rs 80,000, a hike of Rs 20,000. A deputy minister’s proposed salary has been raised from Rs 70,000 to Rs 95,000.
Apart from restructuring the basic salary, the house committee has also proposed raising the various allowances for both present and former MLAs. These allowances will also be applicable for the chief minister, speaker, deputy speaker and all ministers.