Bhubaneswar: The Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Surama Padhi, on Tuesday constituted a committee to propose recommendations for increasing the salary of sitting legislators and the pension of former MLAs.
The committee, chaired by BJP MLA Bhaskar Madhei, includes eight members: Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Madkami, Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallick, BJD MLA Pratap Keshari Deb, Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, and MLAs Laxman Munda, Prakash Soren, Nihar Mahananda, and Purna Sethi.
Earlier in the day, during the Zero Hour, Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallick raised the issue of low salaries and pensions for legislators and former MLAs, citing rising inflation and increasing health expenses. She highlighted that Odisha currently ranks 27th in terms of legislators’ salaries nationwide.
Mallick pointed out that a previous committee under the BJD government had recommended increasing the monthly salary of legislators to ₹2.5 lakh and pensions to ₹70,000. However, these recommendations remain unimplemented. She urged the Speaker to establish a new committee if necessary to expedite the matter.
The Speaker’s decision to form the committee signals a step toward addressing long-standing demands for fair remuneration for lawmakers in the state.
