Kashmir legislators’ salaries to go up

JAMMU - Legislators in Jammu and Kashmir are set to get higher salaries in September as a pending bill seeking enhancement in their emoluments would be brought in the autumn session of the legislature.

The session is likely to take place sometime next month after the festival of Id-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the Muslim month of fasting of Ramadan.

According to official sources, the bill, which seeks to enhance the salaries of MLAs and MLCs, would be placed before the assembly in the next session.

Since there is general support for the bill in both houses of the state legislature, it is expected to be passed. The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a similar bill hiking the salary of MPs from Rs.16,000 to Rs.50,000.

The state legislators, as per the proposals of the bill, would be entitled to emoluments of Rs.60,000 per month as against Rs.40,000 they are getting presently.

The bill was introduced in the house in March this year, but it could not be taken up for discussion then because more than 4.5 lakh employees of the state government were on strike demanding implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

The employees had questioned the government’s proposal for hiking the salaries of legislators.

Now since the issue of payment of salaries and arrears for the employees has been settled, the bill would be taken up for discussion and passage in the next session of the legislature, the sources said.