Bhubaneswar, Mar 31 (PTI): The Odisha government on Tuesday night withdrew four bills relating to a three-fold hike in salaries, allowances, and pensions of MLAs, ministers, chief minister and others before Speaker Surama Padhy adjourned the budget session sine die, five days ahead of schedule.
After midnight, the House also passed the Odisha State Public Universities (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill, 2026, following a detailed four-hour debate in which members of both the treasury and opposition benches participated.
Though BJD MLAs Ranendra Pratap Swain, Arun Kumar Sahu, Dhruba Charan Sahu, and Ganeshwar Behera, along with Congress member Ashok Das, demanded the bill be sent to the select committee, Higher Education Minister Suryavansi Suraj argued for its immediate implementation.
The session, which started on February 17, was scheduled to continue till April 8. However, the House approved a proposal of government chief whip Saroj Kumar Pradhan to adjourn the session sine die as there was not much business pending.
During the evening session, the House passed the Odisha Appropriation Bill 2026, allowing the state government to spend Rs 3.10 lakh crore from its consolidated fund during the financial year 2026-27.
Before sine die of the session, Odisha Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling moved notices for the withdrawal of four amendment bills which proposed revision of salaries, allowances and pension of legislators speaker, deputy speaker and ministers.
The bills were withdrawn with consent of the House, which was earlier passed unanimously in the House on the last day of the winter session on December 9, 2025.
The state government decided to withdraw the bills due to widespread public outrage. Though the bills were passed in the House, they were awaiting the governor’s assent for a three-fold increase in the salaries, allowances, and pensions of MLAs, ministers, chief minister, speaker, and deputy speaker.
Legislature parties of both ruling and opposition parties had requested Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to review the bills, considering public opposition to the three-fold hike in the salary, allowance of lawmakers and pension for ex-MLAs.
In the bills, which got the nod of the House last year, provisions were made to raise the monthly salary and allowance of MLAs more than three times, from Rs 1.11 lakh to Rs 3.45 lakh per month, one of the highest in the country. PTI AAM ARB ARB
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