Meghalaya: Pyngrope suggests 50% salary cut of legislators

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMay 20, 2020

Opposition Congress legislator from Nongthymmai Charles Pyngrope has suggested 50 percent salary cut from all 60 MLAs to help the state in dealing with prevailing situation due to COVID-19 pandemic. 

“It would be in the fitness of things that salary of all MLAs be cut by 50 percent,” Pyngrope said while participating in the budget discussion during the reassembled budget session of the Assembly held on Wednesday.

He said only Rs 6000 was deducted from the salary of the MLAs.

“We are happy to learn that ministers and grade I officers will give 50 percent of their salary (to help the state fight against the pandemic). But in fact there is no much difference between the salary of minister and MLA. Therefore, I would like to say why not reconsider the decision by deducting 50 percent salary of the MLAs,” he said. 

On the other hand, Pyngrope also urge the state government to restore salary of grade B, C and D employees.

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“Most of these employees have taken housing, personal, medical, and education loans. Now if that is deducted by the banks, they have nothing less to put food on the table. Therefore, allow us (MLAs) to contribute 50 percent of our salary and restore back percentage deducted from salary of grade B, C and D employees,” he said. 

Stating that the pandemic has caught everyone unaware and unprepared, Pyngrope said in the process, measures were taken by the government to ensure fiscal stability of its own resources. 

“We all know overall health of the state depends largely on its fiscal health like we have resorted to increase cost of IMFL and others to augment the fiscal health so that the unaccounted expenditure could be met without having to dig from other resources,” he said.

The legislator also reminded that due to the ban on coal mining, which led to revenue loss of over Rs 465 crore, he had suggested the government to come up with an economic development board to help the state look into avenues for generating the deficit.