New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) The recent 24 per cent hike in salaries of Members of Parliament (MP) after a period of seven years works out to be around 3.1 per cent per annum, a far cry from big and arbitrary hikes parliamentarians used to grant themselves, officials said on Tuesday.
Official sources noted that many states continue to follow an “arbitrary and ad hoc” mechanism for hiking salaries of MLAs (members of legislative assembly) and noted that the Modi government had, in 2018, tied the rise in MP’s remuneration to the Cost Inflation Index to stem criticism that they decided on their own pay package.
They said it was the Prime Minister’s strong view in 2016 that MPs should not decide their pay package, and a decision should either be taken by a body similar to the pay commission or it should be linked to hikes given to certain posts and ranks from time to time.
An official said, “The mechanism introduced in 2018 ensures a fair and transparent approach to salary revisions, preventing arbitrary increases and ensuring financial prudence.” The Finance Act of 2018 amended The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954, to link MPs’ salaries to inflation, specifically using the Cost Inflation Index (CII) published under the Income Tax Act of 1961.
Before this amendment, salary revisions were conducted on an “ad hoc” basis and required parliamentary approval each time, officials said. The new mechanism depoliticised the process and introduced a systematic mechanism for salary adjustments, they added.
The last revision before the 2018 amendment took place in 2010, when Parliament passed a bill to increase MPs’ monthly salaries from Rs 16,000 to Rs 50,000, they noted. This led to public criticism, as many perceived it as MPs granting themselves a three-fold pay hike, they said.
The base salary in 2018 was set at Rs 1 lakh per month, with additional allowances, including a constituency allowance of Rs 70,000 and a daily allowance of Rs 2,000, along with other benefits such as free housing, travel, and utilities.
Officials noted that as an extraordinary measure during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government implemented 30 per cent salary reduction for MPs and ministers in April 2020 for a year. This decision was taken to supplement the financial resources of the Central government in tackling the pandemic.
Many state governments, they said, continue to follow an arbitrary and ad hoc mechanism for deciding MLAs’ salaries, granting themselves extraordinarily high hikes.
During the 2025 budget presented recently, the Karnataka government headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah approved 100 per cent salary hike to MLAs and himself.
While the CM’s salary increased from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh per month, the ministers’ salaries rose from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh, the official sources said.
The salary of MLAs and MLCs also rose. With allowances included, their total monthly income increased from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, they said.
In June 2024, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha government had increased the salaries of the chief minister, ministers and MLAs by up to 50 per cent, they added.
In 2023, the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi approved 136 per cent salary hike for himself, raising his pay to Rs 1.7 lakh per month, while MLAs received 66 per cent increase.
State governments, including in West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh, have raised the salary of MLAs in a similarly ad hoc manner, they added. PTI KR RUK RUK
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