The Assam government is proposing a massive hike of up to five times in remuneration of panchayat members, in line with increases received by Members of Parliament and of various legislative assemblies.
Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Rockybul Hussian today said in the state assembly that the government was discussing a proposal under which the monthly remuneration of Zilla Parishad chairpersons would be increased to Rs 10,000 from the current Rs 2,000.
Similarly, vice chairpersons of Zilla Parishad were expected to get Rs 7,000 per month as against Rs 5,000 now, while other Zilla Parishad members would receive Rs 3,500 as against Rs 700 presently.
“Members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been given salary hikes and so have been MLAs and MLCs in various states. Similarly, we propose to hike the remuneration of panchayat members in Assam,” Hussain said.
He said the step was intended to boost the morale of panchayat members and also act as an incentive at a time of inflationary pressure.
As per the government’s proposal, Panchayat Samiti chairmen would get a monthly remuneration of Rs 7,500 as against Rs 1,500 presently, while vice chairman’s remuneration would be increased to Rs 5,000 as against Rs 1,000 now.
In case of other Panchayat Samiti members, the proposal was to increase the amount to Rs 2,500 a month from the current Rs 500.
Similarly, chairmen of Gram Panchayat would receive Rs 5,000 a month as against Rs 1,000 and vice chairman’s remuneration would be hiked to Rs 3,000 from Rs 750.