Odisha Govt hikes allowances, DA of Panchayati Raj representatives; details inside

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of elections, Odisha Government hiked the allowances and DA of elected representatives in Panchayati Raj Institution.

As per the announcement, the monthly allowances of zilla parishad chairman, zilla parishad vice-chairman and zilla parishad members increased to Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively from Rs 9,380, Rs 7,040 and Rs 3,530.

The government also hiked their DA and sitting fee to Rs 600 from Rs 300 per day.

Moreover, the consolidated remuneration of panchayat samiti chairman also increased to Rs 15,000 from Rs 3,530. As per the announcement, the panchayat samiti vice-chairman and members will receive Rs 7,500 per month as consolidated remuneration. Earlier, a panchayat samiti vice-chairman and a member was getting Rs 2,350 each. With the hike, they will be paid Rs 7,500 per month.

Besides, the allowance of sarpanch increased to Rs 10,000 from Rs 2,350. The allowance of naib sarpanch also hiked to Rs 4,000 from Rs 940.

Similarly, the DA and sitting fee of panchayat samiti chairman, panchayat samiti vice-chairman, panchayat samiti members, sarpanch, naib sarpanch and ward members increased to Rs 480 from Rs 240 per day.

With the hike in remuneration and DA of representatives in Panchayati Raj system, total Rs 242.56 Crore will be spent from the state exchequer annually. The state government will bear an additional expenditure of Rs 162.68 Crore.

This apart, the state government announced to pay Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for death of the sitting representatives in the Panchayati Raj institution. Also, they will be provided Rs 2 lakh financial assistance for irrecoverable loss of both eyes, hands and feet in accident. In case of partial deformity due to accident, they will receive Rs 1 lakh assistance.