Around 20 AAP MlAs have demanded an increase in their salaries and allowances.
A presentation to this effect has been given to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by AAP MlAs. MlAs salaries were last revised in 2011, when the then Sheila Dikshit Government had increased the salaries by about 100 per cent citing inflation.
The Delhi legislative Assembly will have to take prior permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) if it intends to hike the salary and the perks of the city legislatures. Besides a basic salary, the MlA gets facilities like rent, free water and electricity, medical expenses, facility of camp office,and telephone facility.
Currently, MlAs in Delhi get Rs93,000 per month that includes camp office expenses while Ministers get around Rs1.25 lakh per month. While the basic salary is Rs12,000 per month, the constituency allowance is Rs18,000. The monthly allowance for telephone facilities is Rs8,000, while the annual travel allowance is Rs50,000. Besides, the reimbursement of the legislators’ monthly electricity and water consumption is Rs 4,000. The house rent allowance is Rs20,000 per month, while the monthly conveyance allowance for MlAs is Rs6,000.
The Ministers and MlAs also get a daily allowance of Rs1,000. According to AAP MlAs, the salary and allowances are not up to the mark as far as MlAs of Delhi are concerned. “I end up spending money from my savings,” said AAP MlA, adding that all MlAs are on the same page on the issue.
“ Hundreds of people from my constituency come to meet me with their problems. The people have to be served water, tea or snacks. This is basic courtesy but given the current salary even being courteous is turning out to be expensive for us,” said an AAP MlA.
The demand seems in clear contradiction to the claims made by many AAP MlAs who had said they would work on Rs1 salary after assuming office as city lawmakers. Some MlAs, during election, had said they would change the political discourse in the country. Interestingly, BJP MlAs have opposed the proposal of AAP MlAs saying that they would draw only Rs1 per month from their salaries and the rest of the money would be spent on the people of Delhi. Over the demand of AAP asking for a pay hike and allowances, BJP MlA Om Prakash Sharma said they have joined politics only for public service.
“I am of the view that the present pay and allowances are sufficient but personally I will work on a pay of Rs1 only,” he said.
leader of Opposition, Vijender Gupta and MlA Jagdish Pradhan supported the sentiments of Sharma and said they would move a motion in the House in the next session for this purpose, and opined that they would only accept secretarial expenses and not accept pay.
At the national level, recently, representatives of the Ministry, who appeared before the panel headed by BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, also told the panel members that a large number of their recommendations like increasing MPs’ Daily Allowance from Rs 2000 to Rs5000, increasing the number of their air travel from 34 to 48, allowing free air travel to ex MPs, extending health care facilities to their married children and grandchildren, could not be considered, the sources said.
The panel is likely to submit its report after a meeting on July 13.