Cuttack: A Division Bench of the High Court, headed by Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M.S. Raman, on Tuesday dismissed a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Odisha Assembly’s decision to pass a bill that seeks a sharp increase in the salaries of the chief minister, ministers, and MLAs, along with a threefold rise in pensions for former legislators.
The court declined to interfere, noting that the Odisha Legislative Assembly Members’ Salary, Allowances and Pension (Amendment) Bill, 2025 is currently awaiting the governor’s assent under Article 200 of the Constitution, and therefore remains within the legislative domain.
Under the proposed amendment, salaries, allowances, perks, and post-tenure benefits of serving legislators would see a substantial and consolidated revision, leading to a multi-fold increase and creating a recurring financial burden on the State’s Consolidated Fund.
Once the bill receives assent, an MLA in Odisha would be entitled to a monthly payout of Rs 3.45 lakh, compared to Rs 1.10 lakh fixed in 2007. The basic salary would rise from Rs 35,000 to Rs 90,000, constituency and secretarial allowances from Rs 20,000 to Rs 75,000, conveyance allowance from Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000, and fixed allowance from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000, according to media reports. Allowances for books, journals, and periodicals would increase from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000, the electricity allowance from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000, and the telephone allowance from Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000. Former MLAs would be eligible for a monthly pension exceeding Rs 1.20 lakh.
