NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav chaired an important cabinet meeting at the state secretariat on Tuesday. Among the key decisions taken, Dr Yadav proposed a change in the long-standing rule regarding income tax on salaries and allowances of the chief minister and ministers, which was later approved by the cabinet members. Earlier, a 1972 Act had mandated that the state treasury would pay income tax on salaries and allowances of the chief minister and other ministers. However, with the new proposal getting approved, ministers will now be responsible for paying their income tax from their own pockets. The move marks a significant change in policy, aimed at giving more financial responsibility to state officials. “We have decided that our ministers will pay their income tax themselves and will not take any financial assistance from the government. So the 1972 rule is being amended,” Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav said after the cabinet meeting.
The state budget has allocated around Rs one crore for income tax of the chief minister, assembly speaker, leader of opposition, ministers, deputy speaker and state ministers. Earlier, this amount was reimbursed by the concerned department after deducting the taxable amount from the salary. In Madhya Pradesh, the chief minister’s salary and allowances in total amount to around Rs two lakh per month. Cabinet ministers get Rs 1.70 lakh, state ministers Rs 1.45 lakh and MLAs Rs 1.10 lakh monthly, which includes basic salary, hospitality allowance, constituency allowance and daily allowance.
50% assistance to parents of martyred soldiers
In another important decision, the cabinet agreed to allocate 50% of the assistance amount for the families of martyred soldiers to their parents. Earlier, the entire amount was given to the spouse of the deceased. Now the assistance amount of Rs 1 crore will be divided equally, in which 50% will go to the spouse and the remaining 50% to the parents. Cabinet Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said, “In some cases, the soldier’s wife used to get financial assistance, but the parents had to struggle. This change in the rule has solved that problem.” Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav said, “We have made provisions to reduce the problems of the parents of martyred soldiers.”