The Odisha Assembly on Tuesday approved a major hike in the salaries of its members, increasing their monthly earnings from ₹1.11 lakh to ₹3.45 lakh. This is more than a threefold increase, making it one of the highest salary packages for MLAs in the country. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling announced the decision after the Assembly unanimously passed four bills related to the salary and allowance revisions.

The new salaries will be effective from June 2024, when the 17th Odisha Assembly was formed. Along with MLAs, the salaries of the Chief Minister, ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Leader of Opposition, and pensions for former MLAs have also been increased by nearly three times.

One of the new provisions includes a ₹25 lakh financial assistance to the family of any sitting MLA in case of death. The bills also allow for salary and allowance revisions every five years. Another important change is that future hikes can now be implemented through an ordinance, without the need to pass a fresh bill in the Assembly.

Currently, an ordinary MLA receives around ₹1.11 lakh per month, including salary, allowances, and other benefits. With the hike, this package will now be ₹3,45,000 per month. The revised breakup includes:

The revised salary package for an MLA includes ₹90,000 as basic salary, along with several allowances such as ₹75,000 for constituency and secretarial work, ₹50,000 as conveyance allowance, and ₹10,000 for books and journals. In addition, MLAs will receive ₹20,000 towards electricity expenses, ₹50,000 as a fixed travel allowance, ₹35,000 for medical needs, and ₹15,000 as a telephone allowance, bringing their total monthly package to ₹3.45 lakh.

Former MLAs will now receive a pension of ₹1.17 lakh per month, which includes ₹80,000 basic pension, ₹25,000 medical allowance, and ₹12,500 travel allowance. They will also get an additional ₹3,000 for each term they have served. According to the new structure, the Chief Minister will receive ₹3,74,000 per month, while the Speaker and Deputy Chief Minister will get ₹3,68,000. Cabinet ministers and the Leader of the Opposition will each receive ₹3,62,000 monthly. The government Chief Whip will get ₹3,62,000, and the Deputy Chief Whip will earn ₹3,50,000.

Members from all political parties supported the four bills, which included the Odisha Legislative Assembly Members’ Salary, Allowances and Pension (Amendment) Bill 2025, the Speaker’s Salary and Allowances (Amendment) Bill 2025, the Deputy Speaker’s Salary and Allowances (Amendment) Bill 2025, and the Ministers’ Salary and Allowances (Amendment) Bill 2025.

Together, these bills approved the revised salaries, allowances, and pensions for MLAs and other key office-bearers. MLAs said the revision was necessary to match current responsibilities, rising expenses, and economic conditions.