CHAPTER - XII
MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT – SERVICES RENDERED
12.1 This
Ministry is responsible for administration of the following Acts of
Parliament:-
1. The Salary,
Allowances and Pension of Members of
Parliament Act,1954;
2. The
Salaries and Allowances of Officers of Parliament Act,1953; and
3. The
Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977.
12.2 Under
Section 9 of the Salary, Allowances and
Pension of Members of
Parliament Act, 1954, a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament is
constituted to make rules on matters specified under sub-section(3) thereof.
Recommendations of the Joint Committee are processed in the Ministry in
consultation with the Lok/Rajya Sabha Secretariats and the concerned Ministries/Departments.
Action is taken to bring forward legislation, wherever necessary.
12.3 The
Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament in its
report dated 16.11.2000 has made
certain recommendations regarding increase in the Salary, Daily Allowances and
other facilities to the Members of Parliament. After considering the said report and other recommendations and also the other
requests received from the Members of Parliament for enhancing the existing
facilities, a Bill further to amend the
Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954
enhancing the salary, daily allowance and rate of road mileage and facilities available
to the Members of Parliament in the form of the Salary, Allowances and Pension of
Members of Parliament(Amendment) Bill, 2001 was introduced in Lok Sabha on 21st
August,2001:-
(i)
the Salary of the Members of Parliament may be
increased from
Rs.
4,000/- p.m. to Rs.12,000/-p.m.
for a period of 5 years;
(ii)
the Daily Allowance payable to the Members of
Parliament
may be
increased from Rs.400/- per day to
Rs.500/- per day
for a
period of 5 years and
(iii)
the Road Mileage paid to Members, where the journey
or part
thereof is
performed by road may be increased from Rs.6/- per km
to Rs.8/-
per km.
Keeping
in view the pressing demand from
various corners regarding implementation of the recommendation of the Joint
Committee for increasing the pension of
ex-MPs, an official
amendment was moved at the time of consideration of the above Bill in Lok Sabha
on 27.8.2001, through which the minimum pension of an ex-MP was increased from
Rs.2,500/-p.m. to Rs.3,000/-p.m. with the provision that an additional pension of Rs.600/- p.m. will be paid
to the ex-MPs for every year in excess of membership of 5 years.
12.4 The
Bill was considered and passed by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on 27th
and 29th August,2001 respectively and also received assent of the
President on 14th September,2001 as Act No.46 of 2001.
In addition to above, the following
allowances and facilities available to
the Members of Parliament by making amendments in the relevant rules
made under the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act,
1954, have been extended:
(i)
the Constituency Allowance of Members of Parliament
has been increased from Rs.8,000/- p.m. to Rs.10,000/-p.m.
(ii)
the Office Expense Allowance has been raised from Rs.9,500/-p.m. to
Rs.14,000/-p.m. out of which Rs.10,000 will be paid by the concerned
Secretariats of Parliament to the person(s) engaged to the Members of Parliament for secretariat assistance.
(iii)
free units of electricity has been doubled from 25,000 units to 50,000 units in a year.
(iv)
free units of water has been doubled from 2000
kiloliter to 4,000 kl per annum.
(v)
members whose constituencies are more than 1000
kilometer away from Delhi have been allowed 20,000 additional free local calls.
(vi)
Members of Parliament have been provided one mobile
phone with the facility of adjustment of the calls made from it against
1,00,000 free local calls already available to them in a year.
12.5
An
updated statement showing the Salary, Allowances, Pension and facilities etc. admissible to Members
of Parliament is at Appendix-XVII
Besides
this, another Bill for increasing
the Sumptuary Allowance of the Leaders of Opposition in Parliament and the
Speaker, Lok Sabha at par with the
Cabinet Minister and to the Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha and Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha at par with the Minister of State
in the form of the Salaries and Allowances of Officers of Parliament and
Leaders of Opposition in Parliament (Amendment)Bill,2001 was circulated to the
Members of Lok Sabha during Winter Session, 2001 of Parliament. This Bill is likely to be introduced in
Lok Sabha during Budget Session,
2002.
The Leaders and Chief Whips of Recognised Parties and Groups in Parliament
(Facilities) Act, 1998
12.6 The
11th All India Whips’ Conference held at Bangalore in January, 1994
as well as 12th All India Whips’ Conference held at Srinagar in
August, 1997 had recommended for extending certain facilities to the Whips of
recognised parties in Parliament and State Legislatures.
12.7 The smooth
functioning of the Parliamentary system depends to a large extent, on the
efficiency of the party machinery in the legislatures. The Chief Whips and Leaders of parties
and groups in Parliament are important party functionaries who play a vital
role in the proper functioning of the parties and groups legislatures and,
hence, fulfil an important public purpose.
12.8 After the
consideration of the matter as a whole and to implement the recommendations
made by the All India Whips’ Conference in this regard in respect of the
centre, the “Leaders and Chief Whips of Recognised Parties and Groups in
Parliament (Facilities) Act, 1998” was introduced in the Lok Sabha on
16.12.1998. The Bill was considered and
passed by Lok Sabha on
18.12.1998 and was considered and passed by the Rajya Sabha on
21.12.1998. The Bill received the
assent of the President of India on 7.1.1999 and was enacted as Act No.5 of
1999.
12.9 The Act provides
for extending certain secretarial and telephone facilities to the Leaders and
Chief Whips of the recognised parties and groups in both Houses of Parliament.
12.10 The Leaders and Chief
Whips of Recognised Parties and Groups in Parliament (Telephone and Secretarial
Facilities) Rules, 1999 were made under the Act and notified on 4th
February, 1999.
12.11 The Leaders and Chief Whips
of Recognised Parties and Groups in Parliament (Facilities) Amendment Bill, 2000 was introduced in the Lok
Sabha on 15.5.2000. The Bill was
passed by the Lok Sabha on 16.5.2000 and by the Rajya Sabha on 17.5.2000. The Bill received assent of the
President on 7.6.2000. The Bill
inter-alia provided for extending the facilities to the Deputy Leaders of the
recognised parties and groups also.
12.12 The Leaders and Chief Whips
of Recognised Parties and Groups in Parliament (Telephone and Secretarial
Facilities) Amendment Rules, 2000 were notified in the Gazette on 3rd
July, 2000. The amendment rules
inter-alia provided for enhancing the telephone facilities to the Leaders,
Deputy Leaders and Chief Whips.
Welfare of Members of Parliament
12.13 In order to look after the
needs of ailing Members of Parliament admitted for treatment in hospitals,
arrangements have been made with the leading hospitals in Delhi to obtain
day-to-day information by telephone regarding health condition of the ailing
Members. The officers of
this Ministry pay visits to the hospitals to enquire about the health condition
of the Members and to render any assistance required by them. The Minister/Ministers of State for
Parliamentary Affairs and senior officers also make courtesy calls on the
Members admitted in hospitals as and when required.
12.14 In the unfortunate event of
passing away of a Member of Parliament in Delhi, the Ministry of Parliamentary
Affairs renders all necessary assistance to the bereaved family members in
taking the mortal remains of the deceased Member for last rites to a place
chosen by the family. During the
period under report, assistance were provided in the following occasions:
(i) Smt. Phoolan Devi,
Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Samajwadi Party was assassinated on 25 July,
2001 at her official residence in New Delhi. As per wish of her family members, her body was airlifted to
Mirzapur (UP) by a special chartered aeroplane on 26.7.2001. All arrangements including embalming of
body, coffin box, hearse vans etc. were made and expenditure was borne by this
Ministry.
(ii) Shri Samar Choudhury,
Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), CPI(M) expired after a prolonged illness in
All India Institute of Medical Sciences on 10 September, 2001. He was suffering from bone cancer. As per wishes of the bereaved family
members his body was airlifted to Agartala via Kolkata. This Ministry
borne all expenditure on arrangements including embalming, coffin box, hearse
van and transport etc.
Transport arrangement for Members of Parliament
12.15 The Ministry
of Parliamentary Affairs looks after regular transportation arrangements for
ferrying the Members of Parliament from their residence to Parliament House and
back. It also arranges DTC buses
for the Members/Staff on duty, on special hire, during the late sittings of the
House to enable them to reach their residence during odd hours in night.
Film Shows
12.16 Ministry of Parliamentary
Affairs arranges screening of feature films in various languages for
entertainment of Members of Parliament in coordination with the Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting.
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs rendered all necessary
coordination/assistance including security arrangements for these shows. During the year 16 films of different
languages were screened.
Dinner arrangement for Members of Parliament during late sitting of
Parliament/other occasions.
12.17 This Ministry makes
arrangements for dinner/refreshment to the Members of Parliament, Press and
Staff on duty in Parliament House during the late sitting of House(s). This Ministry also arranges transport
facilities for Members of Parliament and Staff on duty for their homes at odd
hours of night during late sitting of the House(s) of Parliament in
coordination with the Delhi Transport Corporation. During the period under report dinner was arranged for MPs
etc. on one occasion.
12.18 The other occasions when
lunch/dinner were arranged:
1. Minister
of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas hosted a
dinner in honour of the Hungarian Delegation at India International Centre, New
Delhi on 26.4.2001.
2.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and
Railways hosted a dinner in honour of the Romanian Delegation at Banquet Hall,
Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi on 26.10.2001.
Ushering in duty at important functions
12.19 This Ministry renders
ushering service on important public functions in which Members of Parliament
are invited. Such duties are
required to be performed on Republic Day Parade, Beating Retreat Ceremonies
etc.