The Himachal Pradesh assembly on Thursday passed bills approving hefty hikes in salaries and perks of legislators, chief parliamentary secretaries, the Speaker and his deputy, as well as the chief minister. The revised salaries are applicable to retired MLAs as well. The decision will cost the state treasury around Rs 16.45 crore every year. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh defended the raise on Friday and said, "Salaries of MLAs have been increased after a long time. It was required."

The salary of an MLA has been increased by 59%, from Rs 1.32 lakh to Rs 2.10 lakh a month. Their daily allowances have also been hiked to Rs 1,800 from the existing Rs 1,500. Former legislators will now get Rs 36,000 as opposed to the current salary of Rs 22,000, and they will be eligible for an increment of Rs 1,000 every year, after completion of the first term.

The chief minister will now earn Rs 95,000, after a 46% hike on his present salary. His cabinet ministers got a 60% hike in salary and their new salary will be Rs 80,000 per month. As sumptuary allowance, the CM and his ministers will now have a whopping Rs 95,000 at disposal, an amount hiked from Rs 30,000.

While the Speaker’s salary was hiked by 60% and now stands at Rs 80,000, the Deputy speaker will now get Rs 75,000, a 66% hike on the existing salary. The salaries of chief parliamentary secretary and parliamentary secretary were also increased.

With the new hike, Himachal's legislators will earn at par with their counterparts in the capital, and only less than those in Telangana. The MLAs in the southern state became the highest-paid legislators in the country after the assembly approved a 163% in their salaries in March. They now earn Rs 2.5 lakh per month, reported the Hindustan Times.