At a time when hundreds of debt-ridden farmers are committing suicide, the Telangana government today passed the bill for the pay hike to MLAs and MLCs in the legislative assembly today. Finance Minister Etala Rajender will seek approval of the House for the bill for the Budget (2016-2017).
A Business Advisory Committee (BAC), headed by the Speaker of the assembly S Madhusudana Chary, has recommended a whopping hike in the monthly salary of the lawmakers from the present Rs 96,000 to Rs 3.5 lakh. The members amenities committee (MAC) headed by the speaker last week had recommended a massive 400 per cent salary increase for the legislators.
According to the latest bill, legislators would get Rs 2 lakh as house rent allowance (HRA) in place of the Rs 90,000 they are getting at present. The committee has also recommended a sizeable hike in pension of ex-legislators and their widows. The monthly pension amount is expected to increase from Rs 50,000 to Rs 65,000.
In addition to the above benefits, lawmakers are also likely to be given gift vouchers to purchase iphones.
Sources say that the BAC has also decided to extend the budget session by two days, in order to discuss vital issues such as drought and school education. The government will explain its water policy to the House on March 31.
In the state, where several debt-ridden farmers have ended their lives since June, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao last year announced that the salaries of all lawmakers will be doubled.
Following the hike in the salaries of the Telangana MLAs and MLCs, lawmakers in Andhra Pradesh are now demanding a similar increase.
