Big pay hike for Kiran Bedi, Anil Baijal

Near 3-fold increase for India's three lieutenant governors.

IMAGE: Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, right, with Chief Minister V Narayanasamy.

The Union Cabinet gave its nod for a revision in the salary and allowances of lieutenant governors of Union Territories.

LGs like Puducherry's Kiran Bedi and Delhi's Anil Baijal will now be paid a salary and allowances on par with secretaries to the Government of India.

The proposal for increasing the pay and allowances of LGs will take effect from January 1, 2016 -- from Rs 80,000 per month plus dearness allowance, sumptuary allowance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month and local allowances to Rs 225,000 plus dearness allowance, sumptuary allowance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month and local allowances at the same rate as applicable to officers of the rank of secretary, GoI.

It will be subject to the condition that the total emoluments (excluding sumptuary allowance and local allowances) shall not exceed the total emoluments drawn by the governor of a state.

How much the Prez, VP, Govs, LGs are paid...

The decision came two months after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced in his 2018-2019 Budget that emoluments of the President would be revised to Rs 500,000, Rs 400,000 for the vice-president and Rs 350,000 per month for governors.

The President was earlier paid Rs 150,000 per month, the vice-president Rs 125,000 and a governor Rs 110,000.

After the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission awards on January 1, 2016, the Cabinet Secretary -- the top-most bureaucrat in the country -- is paid Rs 250,000 per month.

A secretary in the Union government earns Rs 225,000 per month.

There are seven Union Territories in the country -- Delhi, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicober Islands, Lakshadweep, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu.

Only Delhi, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicober Islands have lieutenant governors.

Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have administrators.

Chandigarh is governed by the Punjab governor.

Graph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan for Rediff.com

Information: PTI