Himachal Assembly Passes Bill for 24% Hike in Salaries of CM, Ministers, MLAs

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Friday adjourned sine die after passing three bills that approve a 24% increase in salaries and allowances for the chief minister, ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and MLAs. The revised salaries are expected to cost the state exchequer approximately ₹24 crore annually.

The bills also introduced a provision linking salaries to the Cost Inflation Index, enabling automatic revisions every five years from April 1, 2030. As a result, MLAs would receive an additional increase of over ₹1 lakh.

Both Congress and BJP legislators welcomed the move, thumping their desks in approval.

Salary and Allowance Revisions:

• MLAs: Monthly salary raised from ₹55,000 to ₹70,000; constituency allowance from ₹90,000 to ₹1.20 lakh; office allowance from ₹30,000 to ₹90,000; daily allowance increased from ₹1,800 to ₹2,000.
• Chief Minister: Monthly salary hiked from ₹95,000 to ₹1.15 lakh.
• Cabinet Ministers: Salaries increased from ₹80,000 to ₹95,000.
• Speaker & Deputy Speaker: Revised salaries from ₹80,000 and ₹75,000 to ₹95,000 and ₹92,000, respectively.
• First-time MLAs’ pension: Increased from ₹36,000 to ₹50,000 per month, with future revisions every five years based on the Cost Inflation Index.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that salaries of ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and pensions for MLAs were revised after nine years, with the last revision in 2016.

Additionally, the reimbursement of telephone bills worth ₹20,000 has been scrapped, and subsidies on water and electricity for MLAs have also been withdrawn.