The salary of MLAs, ministers and the Speaker has been hiked in Odisha, with the state Assembly on Tuesday passing a remuneration bill on the concluding day of its Winter Session.
The pension of former MLAs has also been enhanced. Henceforth, the Speaker will receive a salary of ₹98,000, up from ₹40,500, while MLAs will draw ₹90,000, up from ₹35,000. The leader of Opposition and chief whip will each get ₹96,000 per month.
The sitting allowance of MLAs has been increased from ₹800 to ₹2,000. The pension of former MLAs has gone up from ₹36,000 to ₹92,000. The car allowance for the Speaker has risen from ₹17,000 to ₹89,000, and the sumptuary allowance from ₹40,000 to ₹1.81 lakh per month.
The chief minister will now receive ₹1 lakh, the deputy chief minister ₹98,000, cabinet ministers ₹96,000, and ministers of state ₹94,000. Members attending meetings outside the state will get an allowance of ₹10,000, while the medical treatment allowance has been raised from ₹5,000 to ₹35,000.
House achievements
The Winter Session of the Odisha Assembly was adjourned sine die 18 days before its scheduled end on December 31. Speaker Surama Padhy announced the adjournment after government chief whip Saroj Kumar Pradhan moved a motion stating that no major business remained.
The session, originally slated for 29 sittings, concluded after 11 working days.
This session was notable as President Droupadi Murmu became the first President to address the Odisha Assembly on November 27.
During the session, the House approved a supplementary budget of ₹17,440 crore and passed six bills, including those revising salaries and pensions. Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the proposal on November 28.
Additional inputs from PTI