Keralam Assembly Passes Bill to Hike MLA Salaries to ₹98,000, Ministers’ Pay to ₹1.33 Lakh

The Keralam Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a Bill to increase the salaries and allowances of ministers and legislators, along with pensions for former MLAs, before adjourning sine die after a nine-day session.

Under the revised pay structure, the monthly salary and allowances of MLAs will rise from ₹70,000 to ₹98,000, an increase of ₹28,000. Ministers will receive an additional ₹25,000 per month, taking their total remuneration from approximately ₹1.08 lakh to ₹1.33 lakh.

The Bill was passed without opposition from either the ruling or opposition benches. Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan appreciated the House for its cooperation in clearing the legislation. However, BJP state president and Nemom MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar said he would not accept the enhanced remuneration, citing Kerala’s poor financial condition.

The Speaker said legislators’ salaries were last revised in 2018 and members had raised concerns about mounting expenses. Chief Minister V D Satheesan said the government would consider a proposal to provide an additional personal assistant to every MLA.

Earlier, the Cabinet, chaired by Satheesan, had approved the salary revision. On the final day, the Chief Minister also called for a time-bound mechanism for implementing development projects, warning that delays in land acquisition and execution were increasing costs and burdening the state exchequer.

Satheesan cited a drinking water project in Kochi that, initially estimated at ₹36 crore and scheduled for completion within three years, took 12 years and ultimately cost ₹172 crore. In contrast, a ₹60-crore project in his Paravur constituency was completed within three years, providing drinking water to 2.5 lakh people, he said.

He stressed the need for accountability among officials, faster administrative clearances and better coordination between departments. He also proposed training elected representatives in project supervision.

The Assembly passed several Appropriation Bills before the Speaker announced the adjournment sine die. During the session, the House received 3,574 question notices, took up 18 calling attention motions and recorded 141 submissions, the Speaker said.