Delhi MLAs get 66% salary hike. Are they still among lowest paid legislators in India?

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An MLA in Delhi will now get Rs 90,000 per month, instead of the previous Rs 54,000. CM, Assembly Speaker, and Opposition leader will get Rs 1.70 lakh per month including salary and allowances. So far, it was Rs 72,000 a month.

What this means is, an MLA in Delhi will now get Rs 90,000 per month, instead of the previous Rs 54,000. So far, their basic salary was Rs 12,000 which has now gone up to Rs 30,000.

The daily allowance has been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500. Most of Delhi’s MLAs are from Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Like everywhere else, some are more equal than others. Now, the chief minister, the Assembly Speaker, and the Opposition leader will get Rs 1.70 lakh per month including salary and allowances. So far, it was Rs 72,000 a month.

A proposal in this regard had been approved by the Delhi Legislative Assembly and sent to the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA).

“The success of any institution depends on talent and their salary is an integral part of this talent. We get our salaries from the taxpayers, so we should thank the public for the increment in the salaries,” then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said.

Since Delhi is the National Capital Territory (NCT), and not a full state, the President of India decides on such matters.

The salary hike for Delhi’s MLAs has come after 12 years. The new pay structure will be effective from February 14, 2023.

The original proposal for the salary and alliance hike for Delhi MLAs had come from the Centre, ruled by the AAP’s political rival, the BJP. The AAP government had then lamented that even after the hike, Delhi’s MLAs would remain among the lowest-paid legislators in the country.

The Kejriwal government had requested the MHA that the salary and allowances of Delhi’s MLAs should be at par with those in other states. BJP and Congress-ruled states are paying 1.5 to 2 times higher salaries and allowances, the AAP government had said.

Many states provide other perks to their MLAs like house rent, office rent and staff expenses, allowance for buying office equipment, vehicles, and driver allowance. The Delhi government said the same doesn’t happen in Delhi. But the demand was not met in full.

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