UP govt hikes salaries of its ministers

The Uttar Pradesh government has hiked the salaries and allowances of it ministers.

The decision, which has come into retrospective effect from April, was taken in a cabinet meeting last week but was kept under wraps. It became public after a formal order to this effect was issued on Tuesday.

Official sources said that the order to almost double the salaries and pocket money of ministers was in keeping with the promise made by the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in the state Vidhan Sabha during the budget session.

The ministers will now draw Rs 24,500 per month, which is about Rs 9,000 more than what they used to get earlier. The basic salary has gone up to Rs 5,000 from Rs 2,500, official sources said in Lucknow.

When in the state, the ministers will get Rs 600 per day as pocket money, double the amount they got earlier. While travelling outside the state, this allowance will be Rs 700 per day.

Earlier there was no bar on the ministers' pocket money but the Bharatiya Janata Party government had two years ago decided to put a limit after some ministers were found to be spending lakhs of rupees per month in pocket money alone.

Incidentally, Yadav will have to drop 27 ministers to reduce the size of his ministry to 15 per cent of the strength of the Vidhan Sabha in keeping with the constitutional amendment adopted by Parliament in 2003.