Cabinet nod trebles salaries for MPs

Members of Parliament will now earn around Rs 1.02 lakh a month after the Union Cabinet today gave its consent to a Bill that enhances their salaries and allowances by over 200 per cent. Daily allowances and pensions have also been hiked.

While a section of the Opposition — led by RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav — continued to demand a pay higher than that of top bureaucrats — the government is in no mood to foot a bill of Rs 80,001 on the salary component alone for MPs, as suggested by a Parliamentary Committee.

Parliament will ultimately decide on the Bill enhancing MPs’ salaries and allowances. Official sources told Business Standard that the government will try to pass legislation in the ongoing monsoon session.

MPs will receive an assured income of Rs 1.3 lakh (a salary of Rs 50,000 plus constituency allowance of Rs 40,000 and stationary allowance of Rs 40,000) a month.

But as almost all MPs will have to pay Rs 28,000 a month to their personal assistants, who are political appointees, they will earn at least Rs 1.02 lakh every month.

The pay hikes will be effective from May 18, 2009 — the day the 15th Lok Sabha was constituted. So, MPs will be entitled to 15 months’ arrears. This amounts to Rs 19.5 lakh per MP. For 790 MPs (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha combined), the total cost to the exchequer works out to Rs 154 crore.

Union ministers receive an additional daily allowance, for every day of the year, over and above their MP pay. MPs will see a doubling of their daily allowance, not only for attending Parliament sessions, but also standing committee meetings. For attending a one-day meeting in Delhi, an MP is entitled to a total of five days’ daily allowance.

A senior UPA minister told Business Standard that the Parliamentary Committee’s suggestion to give salaries equivalent to that of top bureaucrats was unacceptable. “A bureaucrat gets pension after serving for 30-35 years, while an MP is entitled to pension even if he has spent just one day in Parliament,” he said. The minister also pointed out that bureaucrats don’t get a daily allowance for attending office every day.
 

SALARY AND ALLOWANCES OF PARLIAMENTARIANS
	OLD	NEW
Monthly salary	16,000	50,000
Daily allowance (to attend Parliament or committee meetings)	1,000	2,000
Constituency allowance per month	20,000	40,000
Office expenses per month	20,000	40,000
# Washing allowance (for sofa covers and curtains)  once in three months # Furniture allowance: ' 60,000 per annum for durable and Rs 15,000 for non-durable furniture
PENSION AND PERKS
	OLD	NEW
Monthly pension	8,000	20,000
Pension for every additional year	500	1,500
Interest-free loan for vehicles	1,00,000	4,00,000
Road mileage rate for vehicles (per km)	13	16
# Free telephone calls up from 100,000 to 150,000 # Accommodation in Delhi with 4,000 kl of water and 50,000 units of electricity every year # Reimbursement of expenses incurred on tiles in kitchen and bathrooms # Travel for spouse: Earlier limited of two trips in the Budget session and one in other sessions removed

The UPA government also shot down the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendation to increase the number of free air tickets available to MPs and their companions to 50 from the current 34. It also decided against giving them dearness allowance.

Up until 1968, MPs used to receive a monthly salary of Rs 400 and another Rs 31 as daily allowance. From 1969 to 1985, they were entitled to Rs 500 as salary and Rs 51 daily allowance. In 1985, the salary was revised to Rs 1,500. Pension for MPs was introduced in 1977. The last salary revision took place three years ago.