The Goa Legislative Assembly passed the Goa Salary, Allowances and Pension of the Members of the Legislative Assembly (Amendment) Bill 2023 to increase the perks and pension of the members. This was at best arbitrary as there was simply a request from a former CM. Three days later, just before the assembly was adjourned, they hurriedly passed the bill with just two of the forty registering a token protest by walking out. This could possibly be the best job in the world where you decide your own allowances and pension irrespective of performance. The assembly has been in session for only 39 days since taking oath in March 2022.
Increasing remuneration of MLAs is required and in the long run can help attract better candidates. The late Parrikar said that it also helps curb graft. The jury is still out on that aspect. Elected representatives running the State and are like Directors of a Company. They should be well paid. Can you see any of our elected representatives being employed in the private sector at senior positions with enviable salary packages? Barring a few, the rest would find it hard to make the cut, they neither have the educational qualifications nor required experience for the top job.
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This reminds me of an interview I watched on TV while in Singapore many years ago. Lee Kuan Yu, the then Prime Minister of Singapore was being asked questions by college students. A student asked “as an average student of accounts, would he be able to aspire for a political position in the future”. The PM’s reply was simple but loaded and reflected the progress made by Singapore in all spheres. He said to become a politician in Singapore, a person had to first reach the top echelons in the Corporate world, he must be acknowledged as the best by his peers. Only then can he make the transition. Once he makes the transition, his salary will be equal to that what he enjoyed in the private sector. Hence, if you are mediocre student, you cannot become a politician in Singapore. Now you know why Singapore is the model every politician wants to copy except their method of choosing politicians in the first place.
We cannot change the way people are elected but if the compensation package offered is good it will attract better qualified people into the fray. There is a need to attract “experienced” professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, chartered accountants, architects, businessmen, etc. They are making the assembly paperless so we need people familiar with reading computer documents, able to understand the technologies, people who have travelled and experienced different public systems before getting elected and an ability to understand a wide range subject matters?
The Bill will add an expense of Rs 19.5 crore annually to the overburdened exchequer. The CM said the last hike was in 2013, he seems to have missed the 2018 amendment bill. While there is no problem increasing the allowances, the arbitrary nature rankles, just because it is public money, does not mean there is no responsibility.
The petrol allowance was upped from 400 lts to 500 lts, why? The Government is promoting electric vehicles so should they not the reduce petrol allowance to send the right message. Moreover, the 66% increase means they expect to drive 200 Km everyday of the year and more if they skip a day, absurd. The duty allowance has increased to Rs 4000 with a strange condition, it is this is to be paid irrespective of the time of arrival or departure in the assembly. Surely, if one does not attend or attends late there should be zero or less allowance. That is why you do not see all the MLAs all the time in the assembly, they get paid anyway. No work no pay only applies to the aam admi.
The car/home advance, please note it is not a loan so no EMI or check if there is an ability to service the loan. The assumption is once an MLA, he will manage. This was Rs 15 lakh and an MLA could buy a top end Innova, now with the increase every MLA is looking at a car costing minimum Rs 55-odd lakh, which is really high end sedans. Why does the public have to sponsor this unnecessary expense? The MLA’s should have been given enough to buy a good electric vehicle.
The housing advance is not just increased but a new condition is added. Earlier an MLA was entitled to a housing loan once, now, if he pays the first loan he is entitled to another, why should the public be paying for so many houses of the MLA?
Now entitled to seven staff instead of the earlier five, are these permanent employees, are they entitled to all the benefits of a job in private sector, what happens if the MLA does not get elected in the next term? Instead of new hires, can the employees in the Government pool not be allocated to a particular MLA. Was the work load analysis done to decide if five was not enough and therefore seven are needed now, especially in this day of computerisation.
Why would their medical allowance needed to be increased, the treatment at GMC is free, most likely they have no faith in GMC and go elsewhere. They should take the example of the King of Bhutan who educated his children within the system and guess what, the standard of their education system improved.
Let us hope that with the increase, the elected representative realise they have to perform like top managers of a Corporation and deliver a high performance State, in the long run, better emoluments will attract better talent into politics and hopefully graft will take a back seat. After all we must have faith that a better future is in store for us.
(The author prefers to write rather than chat in a balcao)
