India’s parliamentarians and state legislators are empowered to fix their own salaries and perks. Each assembly decides on it from time to time, but should they?

Unlike government employees, who have independent pay commissions, MPs and MLAs decide their own remuneration—an arrangement increasingly being questioned for its inherent conflict of interest. This issue has gained currency after Odisha MLAs raised their take-home salary to Rs 3.45 lakh per month, the highest in the country, followed by Telangana (Rs 2.7 lakh), Maharashtra (2.6 lakh), Manipur (2.5 lakh) and Uttar Pradesh (2.4 lakh). The lowest-paid MLAs are in Kerala at Rs 70,000 per month.

The Odisha Assembly unanimously passed four Bills approving a threefold pay hike on 9 December, the last day of the winter session. Additionally: emoluments have been enhanced with retrospective effect from June 2024. Aside: the current BJP government under Mohan Charan Majhi assumed office in June 2024.

The monthly pension payable to former MLAs has also been revised from Rs 30,000 to Rs 80,000, plus a travel allowance of Rs12,500 and a revised medical allowance of Rs.25,000. In a state where nearly 16 per cent of the people still live below the poverty line, the move has triggered widespread public anger and criticism.

Odisha........

© National Herald