BHUBANESWAR: Speaker of the Odisha Assembly Bikram Keshari Arukha on Monday announced an all-party committee headed by BJD legislator Amar Prasad Satpathy to study the demand for a hike in salary and perks of the MLAs and pension of former MLAs.Earlier on Saturday, members cutting across party lines had demanded a hike in their salary and other perks citing an increase in the cost of living because of high inflation.
Raising the issue during zero hour in the House, the MLAs had demanded that their salary should be raised to Rs 2 lakh from Rs1 lakh. They maintained that the salary and perks of MLAs of Odisha are far lower compared to many other states.
MLAs now get almost Rs 1 lakh per month, including Rs 35,000 salary and Rs 65,000 as allowances. This excludes a daily allowance of Rs 1,500 per day while the House is in session, besides travel reimbursement for attending the sessions. Meanwhile, a delegation of former MLAs also met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the Assembly and demanded to enhance the monthly pension amount to Rs50,000 from the existing Rs 30,000. They have also demanded a monthly medical allowance of Rs10,000.