New Delhi: A proposal currently with the Finance ministry seeks a massive hike in the salaries and perks of India's Members of Parliament, including that of the Prime Minister.
Once approved, the monthly salary of an MP will go up from the current figure of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh; their constituency allowance from Rs 45,000 to Rs 90,000 and secretarial assistance plus office allowance from Rs 45,000 to Rs 90,000. This takes their total pay to Rs 2.8 lakh per month.
Besides the salaries, there is also a proposal to increase the MPs' basic monthly pension from Rs 20,000 to Rs 35,000. Parliamentarians who have served for more than five years would get an additional amount. This will be calculated by multiplying the number of years with Rs 2,000. Currently, the additional amount is the number of years multiplied by Rs 1,500.
The move comes after the 7th pay commission increased the salaries of government officials which led to the salaries of secretaries and cabinet secretaries being higher than that of the MPs and Ministers. The government believes that this needs to be amended so that the salaries of the elected representatives are at par with the secretaries of the government of India.
Under the proposal, while the salary of MPs will be fixed at Rs 1,000 more than that of secretaries, the salaries of ministers will be fixed at Rs 10,000 more than that of the cabinet secretaries.
At the same time, the Prime Minister's salary will be fixed at 1.5 times that of the Cabinet Secretary. The proposal will thereby make the increase in the salaries of MPs and ministers automatic whenever the Pay Commission recommendations are implemented.
Interestingly, the recommendation follows a similar attempt by a parliamentary panel in July this year which was turned down by the government. The proposals included not just a pay hike but a host of other perks. These included diplomatic passports for former MPs; first AC facility to an MP's companion; local telephone when an MP is abroad; exemption from toll to former MPs; permission for former MPs to travel in first AC along with spouse or companion and provision for canteen facilities to MPs for purchase of items of daily need.
A look into past data reveals that the last hike for Indian MPs saw their salaries increase by over three times. A bill passed by the Lok Sabha in 2010 hiked salaries of parliamentarians from Rs 16,000 to Rs 50,000 per month.
