AAP MLAs highest paid legislators after Assam
Himanshi Dhawan, in Times of India, Dec 5, 2015, – Delhi MLAs gift themselves 400% salary hike.
(Note: If this report in the Times of India is correct, the urgent need of the hour is to bring about a uniform rationalization of the salaries of MLAs in all states in India. Now it looks like a free for all, to loot the tax payers’ hard eafrned money as they like. james kottoor,editor)
NEW DELHI: With a 400% hike in salary, AAP MLAs have become among the highest paid legislators, second only to Assam. Assam MLAs receive Rs 60,000 as basic salary while AAP legislators will now receive Rs 50,000 putting them at par with Members of Parliament.
TOI and PRS Legislative analyzed basic monthly salary of 18 states but not allowances and perks which differ in each state. While some states have special allowances like stationery and travel, others have perks for travel, power and water subsidy.
The analysis reveals that legislators in prosperous states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala draw lower salaries than their counterparts in "backward'' states like Jharkhand and Bihar. MLAs in TN get a basic salary of Rs 8000 while those in Kerala-most likely the lowest paid– receive Rs 1000. In comparison, those in Jharkhand and Bihar receive Rs 30,000, at par with legislators in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. Punjab MLAs draw a monthly pay packet of Rs 25,000 while Andhra Pradesh legislators get Rs 12,000.
Interestingly, though Indian MPs are among the highest paid (Rs 50,000 per month) elected representatives in India, they are among the lowest paid internationally. Analysis of MP salaries by Factly.in based on the Inter-Parliamentary Survey (IPU) report (in gross amount before tax) per parliamentarian per year in the year 2012 shows that the average annual parliamentary salary is $62,075 (in purchasing power parity (PPP dollars).
"While there is a lot of criticism surrounding the salary of Indian MPs, their basic salary is on the lower side when compared to most other developed countries. The nearest to the salary received by an Indian MP is by a South African MP who receives more than twice the amount received by his Indian counterpart. The highest salary is received by an Australian MP, about 6.5 times the amount received by an Indian MP. Even a Brazilian MP receives more than 6 times the basic salary of an Indian MP. An Indian MP earns roughly one-sixth of what his American counterpart gets as a basic salary,'' Rakesh Dubbudu from factly.in said.
