Assembly to take up Bill for hike in MLAs’ salary today

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 30

A substantial increase of at least 40 per cent in monthly salaries, allowances and fringe benefits of Haryana legislators is not enough for them.

The Assembly today deferred till tomorrow a Bill seeking to revise MLAs’ salaries and allowances “in view of rise in cost of living”. The Bill was deferred to evolve a consensus on the matter, as certain MLAs said the increase recommended by a committee was “meagre”.

The committee headed BJP chief whip Gian Chand Gupta had submitted its recommendations in the last Budget Session.

Raising the issue after the Bill was tabled, BSP’s Tek Chand Sharma, a member of the committee, said that though in protocol the MLAs were above the Chief Secretary, yet the salary hike proposed in the Bill had “disappointed” elected representatives.

Sharma drew support from members cutting across party lines, who rejected the increase proposed in the Bill.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ram Bilas Sharma intervened and assured the House a “consensus” would be evolved on the matter after consulting the Speaker, following which the House decided to discuss the Bill tomorrow.

The Bill proposed a monthly salary and allowances of about Rs1.4 lakh as against Rs1 lakh being paid to the members. The proposed salary and allowances included monthly salary (Rs40,000 from Rs30,000), constituency allowance (Rs40,000 from Rs30,000), office allowance (Rs15,000 from Rs10,000), telephone allowance (Rs15,000 without any increase over the current allowance) and secretarial allowance (Rs15,000 each for two persons from Rs15,000 for one person).

The ‘tax-free’ salary excluded daily allowance of Rs2,000 per day (up from Rs1,500 at present) and Rs3 lakh per annum free traveling allowance (up from Rs2 lakh currently paid to MLAs).

In the last Budget session, the committee had recommended a salary increase of at least 100 per cent from Rs1 lakh per month.

Stray cattle: Cong, INLD take on BJP

Chandigarh: The ruling BJP was at the receiving end of both the Congress and the INLD over the stray cattle menace which was playing havoc with standing crops and human lives. The Treasury Benches, especially Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister OP Dhankar was at pains  to defend the government on the stray cattle menace which, the Opposition alleged, was emerging as one of the major problems during discussion on the calling attention motion. Several Congress leaders, including Kiran Chaudhry and Karan Dalal, took the government to task for slow rehabilitation of stray cows even as the BJP swore by cow protection. Dhankar, however, claimed that the government had decided to establish Gau-Abhayaranyas at various places in the state to tackle the problem. — Pradeep Sharma