Salary, pension of MLAs raised

Bhopal, Aug 1 (UNI) The Madhya Pradesh Assembly today passed by A voice vote, without debate, an amendment bill to raise the salary, constituency allowance, pension, family pension and medical allowance of legislators and former legislators.

The increase will entail additional expenditure of Rs 6.63 crore annually on the state exchequer, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra, who piloted the bill, said. The increase was effected due to corresponding increase in inflation.

The salary of legislator was raised from Rs 4,000 to Rs 9,000, constituency allowance from Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000 and pension from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per month.

Pension would increase at the rate of Rs 200 per month instead of Rs 100 earlier for every additional year put in as legislator beyond five year tenure.

Family pension for spouse or dependents of deceased legislators was also raised from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000, while former legislators would also be entitled for increased medical allowance of Rs 3,000 per month as against Rs 1,000 at present.

The legislators along with spouse will also be permitted to travel by air to attend assembly session or committee meetings.

UNI