West Bengal Govt hikes salaries of ministers, MLAs and assembly speaker

The West Bengal government on Friday decided to hike the salaries of state ministers, MLAs and the Speaker of the Assembly.

State ministers, who were earlier drawing a monthly salary of Rs 7,500, would get a hike of Rs 10,000 taking their total salary amount to Rs 17,500, the state cabinet today decided in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

For MLAs and the Speaker, who were getting a monthly remuneration of Rs 12,500, the proposed hike was that of Rs 5,000 each, taking their salary to an equal platform with the ministers, a senior state minister said after the meeting.

In another decision, the cabinet gave its nod to incorporate South 24 Parganas Kolkata Leather Complex into the Kolkata Police jurisdiction, he said.

The cabinet also sanctioned five major bridge/Railway over bridge projects to improve communication and road safety at an estimated cost of Rs 251.51 crore, the minister said.