MLAs’ pay packet swells 167%

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 31

At a time when lakhs of youths possessing high educational qualification are unemployed in Jammu and Kashmir, the state government has increased the salary of MLAs from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1,60,000.

The government has increased their monthly telephone allowance from Rs 14,000 to Rs 30,000, medical allowance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000, compensatory city allowance from Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 and basic salary from Rs 35,000 to Rs 60,000, increasing the total monthly salary to Rs 1,60,000.

“It is like rubbing salt on the wounds of several lakh unemployed youths who possess high educational qualifications and have no place to work,” said an official in the civil secretariat.

He said they could see youths with postgraduate and doctorate degrees moving from pillar to post to seek menial work in the civil secretariat.

The salary of MLAs would put an annual burden of Rs 16.7 crore on the state exchequer, in addition to allowances given to ministers. The order to revise the salary of MLAs was implemented on July 8.

As per the economic survey of 2011, the number of unemployed youths registered in various district employment and counselling centres was 6.01 lakh.

Officials said the number would have touched 10 lakh in 2016 as thousands of youths had been passing out from various universities in the country every year.

Nearly 2.5 lakh unemployed youths with graduate and postgraduate degrees had got themselves registered with employment cells to seek jobs.

Last year, the General Administration Department had 1.17 lakh aspirants for 148 Class IV posts and a majority of them possessed graduate and postgraduate degrees.

“Due to lack of political will, the unemployment rate is increasing while the pockets of MLAs are swelling,” said Uzair Hassan, a postgraduation student of the University of Kashmir.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said in the Legislative Council on July 2 that state government employees would have to wait for at least two more years to get benefits recommended by the 7th Pay Commission.

State government employees had been protesting for past several years, seeking enhancement in their salaries and allowances.