Pay-hike,gifts galore for AP legislators

Members of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Council will now get a monthly pay packet of Rs 90,000,up from Rs 40,000.

Andhra Pradesh legislators were in for a bonanza on the last day of the Budget session with the state government allowing a hefty hike in their monthly pay and gifting them laptops with state-run corporations handing them gift vouchers and suitcases.

Members of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Council will now get a monthly pay packet of Rs 90,000,up from Rs 40,000. The pay packet includes a basic pay of Rs 15,000 and a constituency allowance of Rs 75,000.

Besides,legislators who have not been provided government accommodation will get an additional Rs 10,000 per month as HRA.

The Assembly unanimously passed the Payment of Salaries and Pension Bill by voice vote.

The monthly pension for former legislators has also been substantially increased. Those who served a single term as MLA or MLC will get Rs 15,000 as monthly pension while those who served two terms will get Rs 20,000 and those with three or more terms Rs 25,000 a month.

Medical and travel benefits will be given separately for both serving and retired legislators.

The government also distributed a Sony laptop along with a scanner and a printer to each of the 295 MLAs along with a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet PC.

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The state-run Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation handed over a Titan gift voucher of Rs 5,000 to each legislator while the State Road Transport Corporation which is making operational losses to the tune of Rs 170 crore has gifted a suitcase to each of the legislators. The State Housing Board also gave away a suitcase to every legislator.

“Looks like there is no coordination between these corporations. We should have been given different items,” one MLA remarked.

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