Panel Unhappy Over Revised Allowances For Mps

The joint parliamentary committee on MPs salaries and allowances has taken strong exception to the Union governments decision not to fully accept the committees recommendations on hikes in MPs salaries and allowances.

The number of free local telephone calls a year is to go up from 50,000 a year to 75,000, instead of the one lakh the MPs wanted. And they are to get Rs 3,000 each per month for office expenses, instead of the Rs 1,000 they now get. They had wanted Rs 5,500.

The committees meeting on Monday, presided by Chairperson Sukhbans Kaur, decided to take up the issue with the Union government. Most members were reportedly enraged that the government diluted the committees recommendations.

The members argued that the government had no authority to alter the recommendations, as these were already approved by Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma and Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Najma Heptullah.

Union Information and Broadcasting minister Jaipal reddy and some other Rajya Sabha members had a meeting later with Heptullah to discuss the issue. Reddy reportedly assured at the meeting that he would bring the members grievances to the government.

Members were particularly enraged at the governments refusal to accept the increase retrospectively. They hold that the increase should be take effect from May 10, 1996, when the eleventh Lok Sabha was constituted.

The government accepted the fifth pay commissions recommendations retrospectively, a committee members pointed out and argued that there was no reason for discrimination in the case of MPs.

As per the governments decision, the constituency allowance has been increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 and the office exepenses have been enhanced from Rs 1000 to Rs 3000. The free local telephone calls have been increased from 50,000 to 75,000. MPs can now avail 15,000 free Water and electricity metre units as against the 7,200 earlier. In addition to these, they have been allowed an yearly furnishing expenditure limit of Rs 30,000.

In order to effect changes in an MPs salary and daily allownace, the government has promised to bring a bill in this session of parliament, a member of the committee said.

The committee on MPs salary and allownaces had approved one lakh free telephone calls and an office allowance of Rs 5,500.