The basic pay of Members of Parliament was today hiked by more than three times from Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 50,000 by the government which also doubled several other emoluments for them.
Ending speculation about a delay in the pay hike of MPs due to differences among ministers on the issue, the Cabinet gave its nod to hiking the basic pay from Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 50,000 per month.
However, this is much less than the figure of Rs. 80,001 recommended by the parliamentary committee which had said the MPs should get more than government secretaries as the former are above them in the hierarchy.
The government also increased office expenses of parliamentarians from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 40,000 per month. The constituency allowance has also been doubled from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 40,000 per month, government sources said.
The limit for interest-free loan for MPs for buying a personal vehicle has been hiked four—fold to Rs. 4 lakh from the present Rs. 1 lakh.
The government has also hiked road mileage rate for vehicles used by MPs from Rs.13 per km to Rs. 16 per km.
Spouse of a parliamentarian can now travel any number of times in first class or executive class, the sources said.
Pension benefits have also been increased from Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 20,000 per month. .
