Bengaluru: The public has objected to giving Rs. 20,000 as telephone allowance to Karnataka MLAs every month and demanded that the extravagant expenditure should be curtailed.
A citizen has appealed to Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to reduce such expenses and use them for good work. Ashok K. tweeted, “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on a recharge of 700 rupees, he talked day and night with 3 GB data every day for two months. Why does this MLA pay Rs. 20,000 per month for phone calls? Why 5,000 for postage?” he asked.
He suggested that if this cost is cut, 11 houses can be constructed for the poor every month. “If you take this bold step to curb these unnecessary expenses, you can save Rs. 56 Lakh every month. According to an estimate, a house is built for Rs. 5 Lakh in villages. That means 11 houses can be built for the poor every month with the cost of telephone and postage expenses of Rs. 56 Lakh given to MLAs. Please curb the wasteful spending. Let the change start from you,” he appealed to CM Siddaramaiah.
On April 1, 2022, the salary of MLAs has been increased by 50 percent. According to records, an MLA gets a salary of Rs 2.05 Lakh. This includes basic salary of Rs. 40,000, field travel allowance of Rs. 60,000, personal assistant salary of Rs. 20,000, postage cost of Rs. 5,000 and phone allowance of Rs. 20,000.