Chandigarh, December 24: Punjab legislators from various parties may differ on a variety of issues, but seem to be on the same page when it comes to enjoying the perks of office, even when they are no longer in office.
As per information provided by the Vidhan Sabha Secretariat under the Right to Information Act, 282 former members of the Legislative Assembly are currently drawing monthly pension.
Interestingly, their monthly pension multiplies with each term (of five years or even less) served by them, in contrast to government employees who get a fixed pension even if they have put in 25-35 years of service.
The information, vide a letter dated December 20, to Rohit Sabharwal, president, Council of RTI Activists, says the pension of MLAs is granted in accordance with Section 3(1) of the Punjab Legislature Members (Pension and Medical Facilities Regulation) Act, 1977, and Punjab Legislature Members (Pension and Medical Facilities Regulation) Rules, 1984.
“The amount of basic monthly pension as per the notification issued on October 26, 2016, is Rs 15,000 for the first term and Rs 10,000 for each subsequent term. The beneficiary retired MLAs also get 50 per cent merged dearness allowance (DA) and 234 per cent presently applicable DA over and above the monthly pension,” says the information.
While the total amount disbursed as monthly pension to former lawmakers has not been mentioned, saying the funds are released by the government, it adds that at present 129 former MLAs are getting monthly pension for more than one term.
Rs 15,000 (first term) +
Rs 10,000 (each subsequent term) +
50% merged DA +
234% applicable DA over and above pension
