ISLAMABAD: Two weeks after the Supreme Court directed the government to provide information to prove that people could survive on the minimum wage, a parliamentary committee plans to discuss increase in travel allowance of lawmakers, Dawn has learnt.
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs will meet on Tuesday “to consider increasing per kilometre charges (road travel allowance) of the parliamentarians” and “the possibility of issuance of traveller cards instead of tickets”.
The meeting’s agenda shows that the committee will also seek “permission to utilise air tickets during visits abroad for the members of parliament, their families and staff”.
Taking up a petition of Jamaat-i-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch on exorbitant price of flour in the country, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court had on April 14 asked the government to submit data showing how a family of two adults and two minors could survive with dignity as per Article 14 of the Constitution on the minimum wage of an unskilled worker — Rs7,000 to Rs9,000.
When contacted, chairman of the committee Mian Abdul Mannan of the PML-N justified the members’ demand for increasing the travel allowance because of the rising cost of fuel. They have to pay from their own pockets while travelling between their constituencies and Islamabad during sessions of parliament and meetings of committees.
At present, he said, the members were getting travel allowance of Rs10 per kilometre which was ‘inadequate’. They have to spend Rs16-17 extra from their own pockets. He claimed that about 80 per cent members preferred to travel by road.
About travel cards, Mr Mannan said the members did not want any increase in the existing air travel allowance of Rs300,000 per annum. They want travel cards like credit cards instead of tickets or vouchers which they should be allowed to use inside the country and while travelling abroad.
Answering a question, he denied that the members would discuss a raise in their salary as it was not within the committee’s domain. The committee’s job is to make recommendations and the National Assembly takes decision through voting.
Matters relating to MNAs’ salary, allowances and privileges are defined in the Salaries and Allowance Act, 1974, which have been amended a number of times over the past 40 years.
At present an MNA is entitled to a monthly salary of Rs27,377, in addition to ad hoc allowance of Rs11,903 per month (2010), office maintenance allowance of Rs8,000, telephone allowance of Rs10,000, sumptuary allowance of Rs5,000, ad hoc relief allowance of Rs3,571 (2011) and ad hoc relief allowance of Rs5,475 (2012). The total comes to Rs71,326 per month, besides other financial benefits.
The MNAs are also entitled to Rs3,750 per day as TA/DA for attending sessions and committee meetings. They are allowed to travel by air in business class, by train in air-conditioned class and a road allowance of Rs10 per kilometre.
They are entitled to travel vouchers worth Rs300,000 per year or cash allowance of Rs90,000. They also get 20 business class return air tickets a year, besides free installation of one telephone at residence and free medical facilities as available to Class-I government officer.
