Will govt recover salary/perks paid to Vanama Venkateswara?

Hyderabad: The decision of the Telangana High Court disqualifying BRS Kothagudem MLA Vanama Venkateswara Rao from the membership of the State Assembly has sparked a discussion in various circles as to whether the government will recover the salary and perks paid to him since he took oath as member of Assembly or not?

The discussion gained importance as the court’s decision came when his term was to end in three-four months. This is not the first such case where members have been disqualified just before the next elections.

The interesting part is that the only loss for such a person is that he may not be given a ticket in the ensuing elections, but when it comes to recovery of salary and perks paid to him, there is nothing that can be done.

An MLA gets a monthly salary of about Rs 3 lakh, which includes allowances. Legislators in Telangana get highest salary in the country. Their fixed salary is Rs 2.5 lakh. In addition they get allowances--contingency, secretarial, conveyance of approximately 200 litres/month, telephone charges and Rs 2,000/sitting of the Assembly when in session.

The MLAs also get allowances for attending meetings of various Assembly committees. In all it comes to around Rs 3 lakh/month.

When asked, legal experts told The Hans India that in case of disqualification of a member, there is no provision to recover money spent on him. The member is disqualified from the date of verdict; not with retrospective effect. He had attended the sessions, participated in the proceedings and meetings and received the money that he was entitled to.

The candidate who secured the second highest votes and who would take oath as a legislator also will not be entitled to get any financial compensation for the period he has lost.