Bhubaneswar, 26/03: Expectations of a salary hike for MLAs have been dashed. Expectations of a salary hike for MLAs and former MLAs have been dashed. The assembly secretary has served a notice to withdraw the increased salary bill. On the last day of the fifth session of the last 17th Assembly, the salary and allowances of MLAs were increased on December 9. The salary and allowances were increased two and a half times at one time. Now the allowances and salaries will increase naturally every five years, and three bills were passed in the Assembly in this regard.
In the fifth session of the 17th Assembly, the long-standing demands of the MLAs were fulfilled. Their salaries and allowances were increased. They increased more than two and a half times at one time. The pension of former MLAs was also increased. Three separate bills related to this were passed in the Assembly. This fixed salary will be implemented from June 2024. Now the salary of MLAs will increase naturally every five years, and no bill will have to be brought in the Assembly. The last time the MLAs’ salaries were revised was in 2017.
After the 2017 revision, the MLAs were getting Rs 35,000 per month as their basic salary. However, if allowances are added, it is around Rs 1 lakh per month. After the revision, the basic salary was made Rs 90,000 a month. If other allowances are added, they will get a total of Rs 3.45 lakh per month. In addition, they will also get a sitting allowance to attend assembly sessions and standing committee meetings. The allowances include a constituency allowance of Rs 75,000, a travel allowance of Rs 50,000, a newspaper allowance of Rs 10,000, an electricity bill of Rs 20,000, a personal visit allowance of Rs 50,000, a medical allowance of Rs 35,000, and a telephone allowance of Rs 15,000.
Similarly, the chief minister’s basic salary increased from Rs 41,000 to Rs 1 lakh. If other allowances were added, the chief minister would have received around Rs 3.74 lakh per month. Similarly, the basic salary of cabinet ministers and ministers of state would have been Rs 96,000 and Rs 94,000, respectively. Including allowances, they would get about Rs 360,000 per month. The chief minister and ministers would also get an additional sitting allowance for various meetings. The Speaker and Deputy Speaker were to get about Rs 360,000. Three bills were also passed in the Assembly in this regard. These are the Odisha Assembly Members’ Salary, Allowances, and Pension Amendment Bill-2025, the Odisha Ministers’ Salary and Allowance Amendment Bill-2025, and the Odisha Assembly Speaker and Deputy Speaker’s Salary and Allowance Amendment Bill-2025. This bill was supported by MLAs Bhaskar Marai, Sanatan Mochi, Purna Chandra Sethi, Ganeswar Behera, Dasharathi Gamango, Santosh Kumar Khatua, Ramachandra Kadam, Bhadav Hansda, and Pramila Mallick. The bill was passed unanimously.
