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Punjab CM gets 100% raise
Salary hike of Cabinet ministers, MLAs to cost Rs 6.96 cr extra annually
Ruchika M Khanna/TNS

Chandigarh, November 5
The Punjab Government may have postponed the release of 30 per cent arrears of the new pay scales to its employees citing a resource crunch, but when it comes to those in power, there seems to be no dearth of funds.

Sample this: The salary of the Chief Minister has been raised by 100 per cent and that of the Cabinet ministers, Vidhan Sabha Speaker and Leader of Opposition by over 66 per cent. This along with the hike in salaries of 117 MLAs in the state will cause an additional financial burden of around Rs 6.96 crore on the state exchequer per annum.

This salary hike (2013-14) has been approved by the general purposes committee of the Vidhan Sabha and was passed by the Assembly recently.

The report of the committee that was circulated in the Vidhan Sabha only mentioned the salary hike of 117 MLAs. The hike in salaries of the Chief Minister and others only came to light after these recommendations were sent to the personnel and finance departments of the state government for implementation.

The Chief Minister’s salary has been increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, while that of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000.

Even the salaries of Cabinet ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister, and Leader of Opposition have been hiked from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000. The chief parliamentary secretaries will now get Rs 40,000 per month against Rs 20,000 per month earlier.

The salary of Haryana Chief Minister is Rs 50,000 per month. The Cabinet ministers, ministers of state, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of Opposition in the neighbouring state also get Rs 50,000 per month. With the hike in the salaries of Punjab Chief Minister, Speaker and Deputy Speaker, 15 Cabinet ministers and 20 chief parliamentary secretaries, the state government will have to bear an additional burden of Rs 97 lakh per annum.

But the major financial burden on the state will come from the hike in the salary of MLAs, which has been increased by 57 per cent and will lead to an additional burden of Rs 5.99 crore per annum.

badal’s pay hike

The Chief Minister’s salary has been increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, while that of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000