Bill seeking retirement benefits for MLAs who held positions even for a day to be moved in Tripura Assembly

Agartala: A Bill will be moved in the upcoming session of the Tripura Assembly amending the existing rule to provide retirement benefits to MLAs who have served even for just a day, state Assembly Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen said here on Wednesday.  

The three-day Monsoon Session of the Tripura Assembly is scheduled to begin on September 4.

“If a member of the house just took the oath and served a day as a legislator, he or she would get the retirement benefits,” the Speaker told the media.

Assembly officials said that as per the latest amendment in 2022 to the Salaries, Allowances, Pensions and other Benefits of the Ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Leader of Opposition, Chief Whip and MLA Act, an MLA would get retirement benefits including a pension if he or she served as a member of the house for at least four-and-a-half years.

Sen said that three important bills, including the amendment bill modifying the existing law to provide retirement benefits to MLAs who have served even for just a day and took the oath of office after his or her election will be moved.

The Speaker said that the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) in its meeting on Wednesday unanimously decided to hold a three-day monsoon session from September 4.

“We planned to hold the Assembly session for five days. But in view of the catastrophic flood in Tripura last week we all, including the opposition MLAs, have decided to hold the session for three days,” Sen said.

He said that on the first day of the session, a special discussion would be held on the devastating floods, which have claimed 31 lives, affected 17 lakh people and damaged around 20,300 houses.

Both the ruling and opposition members of the BAC stressed the importance of giving priority on rebuilding efforts following this natural disaster.

After the BAC meeting, Parliamentary Affairs and Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that the three-day Assembly session would include private member resolutions, introduction and discussion on three bills apart from discussion on flooding.