Delhi Assembly forms committee after MLAs demand salary hike

Delhi Assembly formed a five-member committee on Wednesday to look into the demands for revising MLAs’ salaries after BJP and AAP legislators raised the issue during a discussion in the House.

The MLAs also demanded an increase in the number of staff provided to them for constituency-related works and revising the remuneration for the data entry operators provided to them.

The formation of the panel comes close on the heels of Centre notifying a 24 per cent hike in the salaries of members of Parliament with effect from April 1, 2023, based on the Cost Inflation Index.

“Two issues were discussed by the House, including that related to data entry operators and increasing the honorarium (of MLAs) in line with Parliament,” Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta told the House.

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BJP chief whip Abhay Verma heads the committee and comprises MLAs Surya Prakash Khatri, Poonam Sharma, Sajeev Jha and Vishesh Ravi.

It will submit its report in two weeks, and the time can be extended also as per requirement, he added.

In the discussion, several MLAs from the treasury and opposition benches cited their low salaries and pressed for a hike.

AAP legislator Anil Jha said that MLAs were given a dignified status with a protocol, but their salaries and perks were much less than even district magistrates and SDMs in their areas.

Jha, MLA from Kirari, also demanded a respectable pension for the former MLAs. His party colleague, Vishesh Ravi, said that the Delhi government should prepare a proposal for revision of MLAs’ salaries and send it for approval of the Centre.

BJP MLA Kulwant Rana also said that Delhi MLAs should be paid respectable salaries like other states, including Goa and Jammu and Kashmir.

His party colleague, Surya Prakash Khatri, raised the issue of increasing the number of data entry operators provided to the MLAs from two to four. He also said that their remuneration be enhanced as per the skilled category under the Minimum Wages Act”.

Khatrie received support from his party MLAs and Jha, who, too, demanded more staff to undertake constituency-related works.

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The salaries of the Delhi MLAs were last revised in February 2023, from then Rs 54,000 to Rs 90,000 per month. The salaries of chief minister, cabinet ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, chief whip and Leader of Opposition were raised from Rs 72,000 to 1.7 lakh.