Keralam Assembly passes Bill to hike salaries of MLAs ministers Adjourns sine die

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 29 (PTI) The Keralam Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a Bill to increase the salaries and allowances of ministers and MLAs, as well as pensions of former legislators, before adjourning sine die after its nine-day session.

    The Bill was passed without any opposition from either the ruling or opposition benches, with Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan appreciating the House for the smooth passage of the legislation.

    The Speaker said the salaries of MLAs were last revised in 2018, and several members had expressed their difficulties in meeting rising expenses.

    Based on the request of the members, he also requested that an additional personal assistant be allotted to each MLA, to which Chief Minister V D Satheesan responded that the government would consider the proposal.

    The state Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Satheesan on Wednesday, had approved the Bill to enhance the salaries and allowances of ministers and legislators.

    Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sunny Joseph also recently said that the proposal was under consideration following discussions with leaders of various political parties.

    Earlier, the Assembly also passed multiple Appropriation Bills on the final day of the session before adjourning sine die.

    During the discussion on the Bill, Satheesan said the government's priority was to improve the state's financial position and ensure that public money collected through taxes was not wasted.

    He said development projects should be completed within stipulated timeframes to prevent leakages from the state exchequer.

    The financial burden on the exchequer increased with each passing year, and delays in project implementation due to land acquisition issues imposed a heavy burden on the government, he added.

    "If land acquisition is not completed in a time-bound manner, there will be substantial leakage from the exchequer. There should be accountability for every rupee spent. The government will formulate a project protocol to ensure this," the Chief Minister said.

    Before announcing the adjournment sine die, the Speaker presented a summary of the House's proceedings during the nine-day session.

    He said the Assembly had received notices for 3,574 questions, of which ministers answered 270 starred questions and 2,538 unstarred questions.

    Notices had also been submitted for six urgent questions, of which two were taken up, he said.

    The House has taken up 18 calling attention motions and 141 submissions during the session. Several important Bills, including the Senior Citizens Protection Bill, have also been passed, the Speaker added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)