New Delhi, July 2 Even as a parliamentary panel has recommended a hike in the salaries and allowances of members of parliament, past data shows the last hike for Indian lawmakers increased their salaries by over three times.
A bill passed by the Lok Sabha in 2010 hiked salaries of parliamentarians from Rs.16,000 to Rs.50,000 per month.
Their daily allowance while attending parliament was doubled to Rs.2,000, constituency allowance increased to Rs.45,000 from Rs.20,000 per month and office expenses (for staff, stationery and postage) hiked to Rs.45,000 from Rs.20,000 per month.
The pension for former MPs was increased to Rs.20,000 per month instead of Rs.8,000.
The current salaries have come a long way from a mere Rs. 500 per month between 1965 and 1982.
Till 1985, the monthly salary was Rs.1,000, Rs.1,500 between 1985-1996, and Rs.4,000 per month between 1998-2001.
The next hike was again steep, fixing the salary of parliamentarians at Rs.12,000 between 2001-2005.
Between 2006-2008, the salary was Rs. 16,000, before it was raised to Rs.50,000 between 2009-2013.
At present, the highest paid government office is that of Chairman of Competition Commission of India at Rs.3.70 lakh per month.
The President of India gets a salary of Rs.1.5 lakh per month, vice president Rs.1.25 lakh per month and governors Rs. 1.10 lakh per month.
The prime minister gets the same salary as parliamentarians, but with additional perks.
In the United States, a parliamentarian gets a monthly salary of Rs.8,84,935, in Canada Rs.7,66,998 and in Australia Rs.6,45,625. In the United Kingdom, a lawmaker gets Rs.5,59,108 per month as salary.
Parliamentary panel recommends salary hike for MPs
A parliamentary panel has recommended a hike in the salaries of MPs by almost 100 percent, sources said on Thursday.
The panel, headed by BJP leader Yogi Adityanath, also recommended around 75 percent raise in pensions and an automatic mechanism for salary hike for MPs.
"A hike has been long overdue. The salary at present is Rs.50,000 which is not a lot in present times," said a member of parliament.
In 2010, a bill was passed by the Lok Sabha to hike salaries of MPs by over three times from Rs.16,000 to Rs.50,000 per month.
At that time the daily allowance paid to MPs when they attend parliament was hiked to Rs.2,000 from Rs.1,000, constituency allowance was increased to Rs.45,000 per month from Rs.20,000 and office expenses (for staff, stationery and postage) was also raised to Rs.45,000 per month from Rs.20,000.
Other benefits include 50,000 free calls from an allotted landline phone, 50,000 units of free electricity and 4,000 kilo-litres of free water.
The Rs.2,000 daily allowance during sessions is also expected to be increased.
The panel has also suggested that the health benefits the lawmakers avail of via the Central Government Health Scheme should be extended to their children and grandchildren as well.
The recommendations of a parliamentary panel are, however, not mandatory for the government.
