The salary payable to the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Ministers, Ministers of State, Deputy Ministers and the Leaders of Opposition will be increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500, telephone allowances payable to them and the members will be increased from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,000 per month.

The salary payable to the State Legislature members will be hiked from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 per month. similarly, the daily allowances payable to the Legislators will now be Rs 400 from the previous Rs 200 per day, while the allowance for stationery and postage will be increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per month. The pension paid tothe ex-members will also be hiked from Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,000 per month.

Another highlight of the Bill is that it provides for payment of travelling allowances to Legislators from Mumbai and Nagpur. "At present there are 49 members from Mumbai and nine from Nagpur. Since the local members of the Legislature reside at different places from five to 50 kms away from the place of session, it is difficult to estimate the exact amount of expenditure which will have to be incurred on these State Legislature members at this stage," Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Leeladhar Dake said while moving the Bill.

The total additional recurring expenditure per year owing to the revised salaries and allowances is estimated at Rs 7.41 crore, Dake added.

Justifying the hike, Dake said after considering the increase in commodity prices, telephone rates, postage and stationery and the representations received from the Legislators, the State Government had decided to go in for the pay hike.