Nation-builder MLAs need hike: CM K Chandrasekhar Rao

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday justified the steep hike in salaries and allowances of legislators saying that they were involved in the nation-building process and deserved better salaries. The Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed the Bill enhancing the salaries and allowances for legislators.

Mr Rao said his first salary as an MLA was just Rs 500 per month three decades ago, but the economic dynamics now were entirely different compared to those days. He requested the media not to project the salary hike as “looting public money” as legislators were incurring heavy expenditure to play an active role in the government and constituency development programmes. He said the salary and allowance Bill of legislators was minuscule when compared to the state budget of over Rs 1 lakh crore.

“A legislator is a member in about 30 statutory committees in his constituency for which he needs to attend meetings regularly. Besides, there would be additional zilla parishad meetings. Normally, on any given day, 50-100 visitors come to an MLA for various works.

We need to serve at least tea, else people will say they don’t get even tea if they go to MLA’s house. Besides, MLAs need to appoint drivers and personal staff for whom they have to pay salaries. They even need to bear the food and other expenditure of their security personnel. In this way, legislators are facing financial problems as all legislators are not rich,” Mr Rao remarked.

The CM added that legislators incurred other expenditure like giving donations for activities like building temples, during festivals and on other occasions.
“Legislators face the wrath of local people if they don't give donations for such occasions,” the Chief Minister said.

Forum says MLAs have been giVen huge tax break

The Forum for Good Governance stated that the 250-per cent hike in the salaries of legislators was not justified. Forum secretary M. Padmanabha Reddy said,

“The salary of an MLA is Rs 20,000 per month and allowances are Rs 2.3 lakh, which is exempted from tax. The salary of ministers is Rs 30,000 per month and allowances, Rs 3.70 lakh on which no tax is paid. This is not justified.”

“The timing of the hike is not correct as the state is going through a drought for the second consecutive year and there is major shortage of drinking water in the state which is raising a lot of concern,” he said.