Cutting across party lines, former Haryana MLAs have sought loans for cars and houses from the Assembly Secretariat at 4 per cent interest rates provided by Himachal Pradesh.
In a representation handed over to Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini and Speaker Harvinder Kalyan on Tuesday, they sought land for a housing society for them in Panchkula.
Seeking medical allowance on the lines of Chhattisgarh, the former MLAs said hospitals should pay at least Rs 20,000 per month for outdoor treatment apart from the provision of cashless cards for indoor treatment.
Former MLAs Association general secretary Ranbir Mandola said, “Banks don’t give us loans after the age of 60. In Himachal Pradesh, MLAs are given loans by their assembly secretariat at an interest rate of 4 per cent. In Haryana too, former MLAs are given loans of up to Rs 25 lakh to buy houses and cars at the same interest rate. .
Mandola, a former INLD MLA from Badhra, said, “Keeping in mind the rising prices of petrol and diesel, the travel allowance of MLAs should also be increased. In Madhya Pradesh, MLAs are given a travel allowance of Rs 2 lakh annually, while in Jharkhand it is Rs 3 lakh. Even in Haryana, the allowance is currently Rs 10,000. It should be increased from Rs. 25,000 per month.”
The former MPs have demanded that their pensions be revised, saying that there has been no revision of pensions for the past few years.
Mandola said, “Central and state governments give 20 percent additional pension to their ex-employees after reaching 80 years of age. Now the employees are looking for a slab system to increase their pension. They have demanded an additional 5 percent pension after reaching the age of 65, 10 percent after reaching the age of 70, and 15 percent after reaching the age of 75. It has been demanded to increase by 20 percent after reaching the age of 80 and 30 percent after reaching the age of 80. 85.
We have the central government and some states agreeing to their demand in principle. The pension of former MLAs of Haryana should also be increased in this pattern.
In the pattern of Chhattisgarh, former MLAs also demanded telephone and sevadar allowance. The former Speaker said that as a representative of the people, he should take care of many guests in his own residence as well as donate to social, religious, sports and cultural programs.
Union President Ramveer Singh (Congress), Former MLAs- Ramphal Kund (INLD), Azad Mohammad (BJP), Bijendra Singh Kadyan (Congress), Ramesh Gupta (BJP), Shashi Ranjan Parmar (BJP), Master Dharmapal Obra (INLD), Dr. Shiv Shankar Bharadwaj (Congress), Ishwar Singh Palaka (BJP), Kulwant Bajigar (BJP) and Anita Yadav (Congress) were also there to meet the Speaker.
On his part, the Speaker assured the former MPs that their demands will be brought to the attention of the state government. The Speaker also asked the Legislative Assembly Secretariat officials to collect details from other states.
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