The state government on Tuesday showered a post-Diwali bonanza on legislators by hiking their salary, allowances and perks.

The gift to the lawmakers came at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar at the secretariat as it discussed and cleared a proposal by the parliamentary affairs department.

Though the hike will have to be tabled and announced in both Houses of the legislature, sources said that it will be reflected in almost the entire salary, allowances and perks structure of the legislators.

A source connected to the parliamentary affairs department said that the salary of the legislators will go up by Rs 10,000 — from the present Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per month.

The Rs 45,000 monthly regional allowance has also been increased to Rs 50,000.

“The legislators will get Rs 10,000 per month for stationery after the hike. At present they get Rs 6,000 per month for the purpose. Their allowances for keeping personal assistants will also shoot up to Rs 30,000 per month from Rs 20,000 at present,” the source said.

Similarly, the rail and flight allowance which is given to the legislators @ Rs 2 lakh per annum to travel with four persons will increase to Rs 3 lakh per annum.

At present each lawmaker gets Rs 10 lakh to buy a vehicle, which has been hiked to Rs 15 lakh.

A senior state minister said under cover of anonymity that the lawmakers were demanding a hike for the last one-and-a-half years.

“The legislators used to stand up while the Houses were in session and would demand a hike in their salary and allowances in unison.

“They used to say that their work has increased manifold in the last few years and they also have to cater to scores of people who visit their houses daily in this era of inflation.

“Even offering tea and some snacks had become costly,” the minister said.

Another argument that the legislators gave in support of their demand was that they were not able to buy any big vehicle for Rs 10 lakh.

Everyone happy

Obviously, all MLAs and MLCs irrespective of party affiliation welcomed the pay hike.

“This hike was necessary as legislators were continuously demanding an increase in their pay and perks. The demand was pending for a long time and finally the government listened,” said Congress MLC Prem Chandra Mishra.

None of the RJD lawmakers, who always oppose all government schemes, said anything against the pay hike. Truly, some things transcend politics.