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The Union Cabinet on Monday approved an extra salary hike of Rs 10,000 to Members of Parliament (MPs). This will comprise a hike of Rs.5,000 in Constituency allowance and another Rs.5,000 towards office expenses. Both the perks are non-taxable. The issue will now be ratified by the Parliament on Thursday. On Friday, the Cabinet had cleared a 300 per cent salary hike for MPs that took their salaries from Rs. 16,000 a month to Rs. 50,000 a month. However, the amount was promptly rejected by political leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, who argued it should be, at least 80,001, a rupee more than what a Secretary to Government of India earns. The recommendation to hike the salary was made taking into account the consumer price index and the wage index for skilled urban labour. Apart from the base salary, an MP gets a daily allowance of Rs 1,000 for each day that he or she attends the Parliament while it is in session or during a sitting of a House committee. A member is entitled for constituency allowance of Rs 20,000 per month and office expense allowance of another Rs 20,000 per month. Every MP can avail 34 single air journeys during a year with spouse or any number of companions or relatives. The last hike in salaries and allowances of 795 MPs -- 545 members of Lok Sabha and 250 members of Rajya Sabha -- came into effect about 10 years ago.

Cabinet approves extra salary hike for Members of Parliament