It seems the Karnataka government is in the mood to pamper its legislators – first with a club, massage chairs, and recliners, and now with a massive pay hike. This, even as the state grapples with a financial crisis.
On March 21, the Karnataka Assembly passed bills that effectively double the salaries and perks of the Chief Minister, ministers, and members of both Houses.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's salary has been doubled from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh per month, while ministers will receive a 108% hike, from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh.
The Speaker and Legislative Council Chairman will now take home Rs 1.25 lakh per month, up from Rs 75,000. MLAs and MLCs will see a 100% increase in salary, from Rs 40,000 to Rs 80,000 per month. Pensions, too, will double to Rs 75,000 per month.
This hefty revision of pay packets by the Congress-led government will cost the state exchequer an estimated Rs 62 crore annually.
At a time when the state faces an acute shortage of funds for infrastructure development, is it justifiable for legislators to grant themselves such generous raises—especially when 97% of MLAs are crorepatis? This also raises the need for a legal framework to monitor and regulate ad hoc salary hikes for lawmakers across states.
Wealthy Legislators
According to a recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Karnataka tops the list in India with 31 MLAs possessing assets over Rs 100 crore, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Despite having the wealthiest MLAs, the Congress-led government has pushed through a bill awarding substantial hikes in salaries and allowances to legislators.
Among India's top 10 richest MLAs, four are from Karnataka. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, with declared assets exceeding Rs 1,413 crore, is the richest in the state and the second richest in the country.
On average, a Karnataka legislator owns assets worth Rs 63.5 crore.
The report further highlights that the majority of Karnataka's wealthiest MLAs belong to the Congress party. An evaluation of the current Assembly shows that 132 out of the 135 Congress MLAs are crorepatis, with an average declared wealth of Rs 67.13 crore.
For the BJP, 63 of its 66 MLAs have assets over Rs 1 crore, with an average of Rs 44.36 crore. Among Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs, 18 of 19 fall into the crorepati category, averaging Rs 46.01 crore in assets.
In total, 97% of sitting MLAs are crorepatis.
In this context, the state government's decision to double salaries and allowances reflects poorly on its fiscal prudence and appears apathetic to public sentiment. It sends the message that lawmakers are out of touch with the hardships faced by ordinary citizens.
State Finances in Despair
The state's finances are in a precarious state, with debt soaring beyond Rs 7.6 lakh crore. For the fiscal year 2025–26, despite a record revenue collection of Rs 2.6 lakh crore (excluding borrowings), an estimated Rs 1.6 lakh crore is committed to expenditure on salaries, pensions, interest payments, and more.
With approximately Rs 2 lakh crore needed for subsidies and welfare schemes, only about Rs 60,000 crore—or 15% of the budget—remains for capital expenditure on development projects. In the past year, the state government has resorted to heavy borrowing to cover these costs.
Adding to the burden, in an attempt to appease dissenters, the government has been appointing numerous Congress functionaries to cabinet-rank positions outside the official council of ministers.
Key welfare schemes of the Siddaramaiah government are also facing delays in payments. For instance, under the Gruha Lakshmi Yojane—one of the government's flagship “five guarantees”—disbursements have reportedly been pending for the past five months.
The state also owes thousands of crores to Escoms (electricity supply companies) and has delayed pending payments to MLAs under the Local Area Development Fund.
In the absence of adequate capital expenditure, infrastructure projects such as metro and bus services are struggling.
Given this backdrop, the government's priorities, fiscal management, and planning raise serious concerns.
One does not see such unstructured salary hikes for MPs in Parliament. Interestingly, the Centre's recent move to notify a 24% salary hike for MPs has reignited discussions about the discretionary powers of lawmakers.
Currently, State Assemblies have the authority to propose and approve salary hikes for presiding officers, the Chief Minister, ministers, MLAs, and Leaders of the Opposition.
The Delhi Assembly, for instance, has once again proposed a salary revision within just two years. On March 26, it formed a five-member committee to consider increasing MLA salaries and expanding support staff for constituency work. The last hike, in February 2023, granted MLAs a 66% raise and the Chief Minister a 136% increase.
Unlike the states, the Government of India bases salary adjustments for MPs on structured criteria linked to inflation, rather than ad hoc decisions.
It is high time states adopted a more standardised and accountable model. Ending the arbitrariness in salary hikes and aligning revisions with the cost inflation index would ensure fiscal discipline.
(The author is Contributing Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
