Odisha Panel to Review MLA Pay, Pension

Bhubaneswar: The Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Surama Padhi, has constituted a committee to recommend an increase in the salaries of current legislators and pensions for former MLAs.

The committee, led by BJP MLA Bhaskar Madhei, includes eight members: Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Madkami, Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallick, BJD MLA Pratap Deb, Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, and MLAs Laxman Munda, Prakash Soren, Nihar Mahananda, and Purna Sethi.

During Zero Hour, Pramila Mallick raised concerns over rising inflation and healthcare costs, urging a hike in MLA pensions and salaries. She noted that a previous committee recommended raising MLA salaries to ₹2.5 lakh and pensions to ₹70,000, but the suggestions were never implemented.

Agreeing with Mallick, BJP’s Bhaskar Madhei suggested implementing the earlier committee’s recommendations instead of forming a new one. Odisha currently ranks 27th in terms of legislator salaries nationwide.

The committee will soon present its findings and recommendations to the Assembly.