Gujarat Governor okays MLAs' salary hike

Gujarat Governor O.P. Kohli on Friday gave his nod to the salary hike bill passed unanimously in the state Assembly during its two-day monsoon session, allowing the legislators a hike of about 65 per cent in their salaries.

According to government sources, Governor Kohli gave his nod to the Gujarat Salaries and Allowances of Members, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Ministers and Leader of Opposition Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018, tabled in the 14th Gujarat Assembly by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja.

As per the new provisions, a legislator in Gujarat will get a monthly salary of Rs 1,16,316, up from Rs 70,727. The Ministers, Speaker and the Deputy Speaker would get Rs 1.32 lakh as compared to their present salary of Rs 80,000. 

The state Assembly has 182 legislators as members, where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party has 99, Congress 80 and three are Independent MLAs.

While tabling the bill proposing the hike, Minister Jadeja had said: "Gujarat MLAs haven't had a salary hike since 2005. This was due. This will help the MLAs work and reach out to more people and do their development work."

The new salary structure will put an extra burden of Rs 10 crore annually on the state exchequer.
- IANS