Delhi government accepts revised pay structure for city MPs endorsed by Center
The Delhi government has agreed to the revised wage structure for the city’s MPs approved by the Center under which they are expected to earn Rs 90,000 per month excluding reimbursements.
The salary and reimbursement structure of MPs in Delhi was last revised in 2011. The government had proposed that the basic monthly salary of MPs should be increased from Rs 12,000 to Rs 54,000 and income including reimbursements , go from Rs 88,000 to Rs 2.1 lakh.
The proposal had been pending with the Center for five years. Instead of the proposed Rs 54,000, the Center has capped the base salary at Rs 30,000, the Delhi government said in a statement after a cabinet meeting where the revised structure was approved. Now, it will once again be submitted for approval by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) before being placed in the Delhi Assembly.
Currently, Delhi MPs earn Rs 54,000 excluding reimbursements and Rs 88,000 including reimbursements. The government has not specified the payment to be made under the new reimbursement structure.
Reimbursements take the form of daily allowances for attending assembly sessions (capped at 40 days/year) and Chamber committee meetings; medical institutions; Pension; guesthouse; monthly electricity and water reimbursements; reimbursements of annual travel expenses; and monthly reimbursement for data entry operators.
“The restriction imposed by the Center has forced Delhi MPs to be among the lowest paid MPs in the country, while MPs in BJP and Congress led states earn around 1.5 to 2 times the amount that Delhi MPs will win. The salary of Delhi MPs has not increased since 2011 and the Delhi government had requested the MHA to bring the salary of Delhi MPs to the same level as that of MPs in other states. However, the MHA refused to do so,” the government said in a statement.
Salaries of Delhi Government Ministers, Delhi Assembly Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chief Whip and Leader of the Opposition will increase slightly as they are currently earning around Rs 1.2 lakh per month, reimbursements understood.
