An independent Pay Commission has been proposed by the
Ministry to recommend salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament. Previously,
Seventh Pay Commission for deciding the salaries of lakhs of Central Government
Employees was constituted to recommend the new pay structure of the employees.
Report of seventh pay commission is yet to be submitted to the Government of
India by the Pay Commission. Now, as per the report published in a Newspaper, MPs
draw a basic salary of Rs 50,000 per month at present. They also draw Rs 2,000
as daily allowance when Parliament is in session. So, complete story is being
enumerated for the readers:
With Members of Parliament (MP) most often bearing the brunt
of public criticism for getting "hefty pay and perks", the
parliamentary affairs ministry has proposed an independent commission to
recommend salaries and allowances for MPs.
Even as Parliamentary Affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu expressed hope that such
a commission (if agreed to by parliamentarians) would bring in a
"transparent and equitable" mechanism to ensure that salaries are not
so low that they defer suitable candidates; questions are being raised about
the entire issue of MP emoluments itself.
MP salaries are governed by the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of
Parliament Act, 1954 which has been amended over the years to revise the pay of
MPs.
After it was amended last in 2010, MPs at present draw a
basic salary of Rs 50,000 per month. Apart from this, they draw Rs 2,000 as
daily allowance when Parliament is in session, Rs 45,000 as office allowance
and Rs 45,000 as Constituency allowance. Apart from these, as per the Act they are
entitled to travel, housing and medical benefits as well as a travel allowance.
As per the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), "on an average, an MP
of the 16th Lok Sabha took home Rs 20.5 lakh in salary and allowances in the
first ten months."
According to ADR, Rs 112 crore was spent on the MPs of the
16th Lok Sabha.
Professor Jagdeep Chhokar (formerly Director IIM Ahmedabad)
of Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) speaking to Business Standard said,
"The terminology of 'salary' for MPs is completely misleading and
erroneous, it gives a very limited picture. It does not take into consideration
the ample non-monetised benefits such as free travel for a companion on air and
railways, the prime locality housing they get in the capital, the medical
benefits, et cetera." Chhokar argues that such "hidden
subsidies" must be removed and quantified before the issue of revision of
salaries is debated. "Its not a question of how much they get but rather
how much is spent by the nation to keep an MP," asserts Chhokar.
Source: The Business Times
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