The decision of the Siddaramiah government to increase the salary and allowances of the Chief Minister, Ministers and legislators has not only raised eyebrows but also drawn flak from Janata Dal (S) here.
District JD(S) general secretary Yusuf A. Athani said on Tuesday that hardly any of the legislator deserved such a hike which would cost the exchequer additional burden of Rs. 44 crore every year.
The present salary and allowances were more than enough for the legislators, who manage elections by spending crores of rupees. Unfortunately, the hike comes when the pace of several development works had been de-accelerated for want of funds and political will; students belonging to poor families craving for a nominal increase in scholarships, old age pensions were meagre and honorariums for Anganwadi workers are not enough to cope with the increasing cost of living, and a large number of ‘safai karmacharis’ with municipal bodies work for very low wages on contract basis.
While the Bill, which justified the hike stating that there was considerable increase in the cost of living and revised the wages for the second time since 2011, the government has apparently shown “deep concern” toward the increasing cost of living of the legislators but not the common man.
“If you survey details of assets and accounts of legislators or ministers you won’t find even a single legislator who needs even a salary or allowance, let alone a doubled hike,” Dr. Athani said adding the same money could have been used to create permanent drinking water sources in drought prone areas and housing for the shelterless families from the lower strata of society. “This move of government clearly shows they are not interested in development or solving issues of people instead filling their pockets!”
