By Firstdespatch Desk Jan 15, 2025
Agartala, Jan 15 (FD) The Tripura assembly today unanimously increased salaries of Tripura Ministers and MLAs by almost 100 % and the legislators will get all retirement benefits, including pension.
The Bill increased the salaries of the Chief Minister to Rs 97,000, the Deputy Chief Minister to Rs 96,000, Ministers, Speaker, LoP, and Chief Whip to Rs 95,000, the Deputy Speaker to Rs 94,000 and an MLA to Rs 93,000.
The salaries and pensions of the house were last increased in 2019 when the Chief Ministers salary was Rs 53,630, the Deputy Chief Minister Rs 52,630, the Minister, Speaker, LoP and Chief Whip Rs 51,780, Deputy Speaker Rs 50,510 and MLA Rs 48,420.
Besides the salaries, the Chief Minister, Ministers, Assembly Speaker, LoP, Chief Whip, and MLAs are getting many other allowances, including sumptuary allowance, hospitality allowance, and conveyance allowance, travelling allowance, dearness allowance, constituency allowance, postal allowance, telephone allowance and house rent allowance.
All MLAs will get all retirement benefits if he or she had served as a member of the House even just for a day.
However, according to the last amendment of 2022, an MLA would get all retirement benefits, including a pension if he or she served as a member of the House for at least four-and-a-half years.
Law Minister Ratan Lala Nath said during this time, the price index has increased and it is inevitable to substantially enhance the pay structure of these functionaries.
Expressing his concern at the salary hike Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chowdhury said, regular salary revisions were necessary, but the increase seemed excessive.
Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman also a former minister said that there should be a ceiling as some legislators were reportedly claiming up to Rs 30,000 per month in medical bills.
However, defending the bill, Nath said that the proposed increase is the lowest compared to the other states in the country. FD JK