All former Governors are set to get enhanced perks. In a Cabinet note to be moved on Thursday, the government is likely to clear a proposal by which they will be paid perks for setting up offices and will have a couple of personal staff members, a facility till now given only to former Presidents and former Vice-Presidents.
Till now, the former Governors were entitled only to a pension, but under the new proposal they can also have a small office for which they would be disbursed monthly maintenance expenses, besides being paid for a private secretary and a peon.
It was in 2008 that Parliament approved a three-fold increase in the monthly salary and pension of the President, the Vice-President and State Governors — from Rs. 50,000, Rs. 40,000 and Rs. 36,000 to Rs. 1.50 lakh, Rs. 1.25 lakh and Rs. 1.10 lakh, while they also get a pension of 50 per cent of their salaries.
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The former Presidents and former Vice-Presidents are also entitled to a mobile phone, an Internet connection and an additional private secretary and peon. Their office maintenance expenses were raised from Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 60,000 a year. All these facilities would now be available to the former Governors also.