Panel Recommends Doubling MLAs’ Salary from Rs 1.5 Lakh to Rs 3 Lakh
Jammu, Oct 28: A House Committee constituted by Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to review the salary, allowances, and pensionary benefits of Jammu and Kashmir legislators has proposed a significant hike, recommending that the monthly salary of MLAs be doubled from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.
The panel, chaired by BJP MLA Surjit Singh Slathia, also suggested proportional increases in the salaries of the Chief Minister, Speaker, Ministers, and Leader of the Opposition.
Under the proposed amendments to the Salaries and Allowances of Members of the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Act, 1960, legislators’ basic salary would rise from Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000. In addition, MLAs would receive Rs 1.10 lakh as Constituency Conveyance Allowance, Rs 30,000 each as Telephone, Sumptuary, and Secretariat Assistance Allowances, and Rs 20,000 as Medical Allowance—taking their total monthly remuneration to Rs 3 lakh.
The committee also recommended increasing the housing loan limit from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 75 lakh and the car advance from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. Personal Assistants of MLAs would see their monthly pay double from Rs 12,000 to Rs 25,000.
For former legislators, the panel proposed a pension of Rs 1.10 lakh per month. It further recommended that all proposed amendments take retrospective effect from November 1, 2024—the date when the current members began receiving their salaries and allowances.
The report stated that a legislator’s role is a “full-time responsibility” and that existing allowances are insufficient given the rising expenses and the challenging terrain of Jammu and Kashmir. Enhancing the pay structure, the committee said, would enable members to meet legitimate public service expenses and improve their performance as elected representatives.
The report, tabled in the Legislature today, emphasized that “people’s representatives serve as a crucial link between the public and the government, and must be adequately compensated for their responsibilities.”
Once the report is approved by the House, the government is expected to introduce formal amendments to revise the pay and allowances of the Chief Minister, Ministers, MLAs, and ex-legislators.
Committee members included Ali Mohammad Sagar (NC), Ghulam Ahmad Mir (Congress), Sajad Gani Lone (People’s Conference), Hasnain Masoodi (NC), Mohammad Fayaz (PDP), Pirzada Farooq Ahmed Shah, Arjun Singh Raju (both NC), and Muzaffar Iqbal Khan (Independent).
