Former Meghalaya Assembly Speaker and Congress MLA from Nongthymmai constituency, Charles Pyngrope has decided to cut his monthly salary by 50 per cent for one year to help the state government in dealing with the COVID19 pandemic.
In a letter to Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh, Congress MLA Pyngrope said instruction may be issued to “deduct 50 per cent of my monthly salary to place at the disposal of the government. This deduction may take effect from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021”
“At this juncture, you are aware that the efforts our government is putting in will need all the necessary help and assistance to deal with the present situation we have all been experiencing,” Pyngrope said.
All the 60 Meghalaya legislators have agreed to part with only 10 per cent of their salary for a one year (April 2020 to March 2021).
However, the former Assembly Speaker said the 10 per cent salary cut for legislators was not much, as only Rs 6,000 was deducted from his monthly salary.
In the just-concluded reassembled budget session, Pyngrope had suggested that the salary of grade-II, III and IV employees be restored and their salary should not be cut.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya government has taken a U-turn to its earlier decision by announcing on Wednesday that it would not enforce deferment of salaries of government employees for the month of May since there is some “stability in the central shares released by the Central government for the month April and May.”