Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced an increase in the remuneration of mayors and deputy mayor of five municipal corporations in the state.

The amount for mayors and deputy mayors has been hiked from Rs 8,000 to Rs 50,000 and Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 per month, respectively.

The salaries of municipal council chairpersons and vice-chairpersons have been increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 15,000 and from Rs 1,200 to Rs 10,000, respectively.

Furthermore, the Chief Minister announced an increase in the monthly gratuity for chairpersons from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 and for vice-chairpersons from Rs 800 to Rs 7,500.

In addition, the remuneration for corporators per meeting has been hiked from Rs 700 to Rs 2,000. Similarly, the allowance for councilors across various municipal councils and NACs has been raised from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000. Moreover, members of the Standing Committee of the Metropolitan Corporation will now receive a daily allowance of Rs 2,000 during meetings.

Furthermore, the Chief Minister introduced ex-gratia assistance for elected representatives of urban areas. In the event of death, this assistance amounts to Rs 2 lakh, while in cases of total and partial disability, it stands at Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh, respectively. The annual expenditure for this initiative, to be borne by the state government, is estimated at Rs 4.76 crore.