Odisha MLAs demand salary hike, Speaker asks govt to take steps

Mishra said an Assembly committee formed to examine the issue of salary hike of MLAs and pension of former MLAs has already submitted its report to the Speaker. He demanded the Odisha government to consider the committee report and table a Bill so that the House can pass it.

“There has been a steep increase in prices of petrol and diesel which causes hardships for the members to perform their responsibilities with the existing salary structure. The travelling allowance of the members has also not been increased. I urge the Speaker to give a ruling to the government to table a Bill regarding salary hike,” said Mishra.

Supporting Mishra’s demand, BJP leader and Opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi urged the government to table a Bill in this regard at the earliest and said MLAs and ex-MLAs are facing difficulties to meet their day-to-day expenses.

Some of the MLAs, while raising the issue, also cited the recent salary hike of MLAs in Delhi.

BJD MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy, who chaired the Assembly panel that examined the demand for salary and pension hike of MLAs and ex-MLAs, said the committee has submitted its report based on aspects like current price index and prevailing salary of MLAs of different states. The committee has also recommended a hike in medical allowance of former MLAs, which was a long-standing demand.

While the MLAs in the state assembly currently draw a monthly salary of Rs 1 lakh, sources said the committee has suggested a more than 100 per cent hike.

Of the existing Rs 1 lakh, the MLAs receive Rs 35,000 as salary and Rs 65,000 for different allowances. The MLAs also get daily allowances of Rs 1,500 per day when the Assembly is in session and Rs 2,000 per day when they visit outside the state. The last revision of salary was done in 2017.

Considering the demand of the MLAs, the Speaker said he has already forwarded the committee report to the state Parliamentary Affairs department for consideration. Arukha also directed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Niranjan Pujari to discuss the issue with the Chief Minister and take steps accordingly.

According to the Odisha Economic Survey 2022-23, inflation in Odisha till December 2022 was 6.56 per cent higher than the 3.7 per cent in 2021-22 and the same was attributed to global factors like high fuel prices, disruption in supply chain due to Russia-Ukraine war, upward movement in energy and other commodity prices.