The Keralam Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed the Payment of Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Act, 2026, raising the monthly salary of MLAs from ₹70,000 to ₹98,000 and that of ministers from about ₹1.08 lakh to roughly ₹1.35 lakh with effect from 1 November 2026.
MLA pension will rise 20%, from ₹50,000 to ₹60,000. The salary and pension revisions alone will cost the state an additional ₹6.91 crore annually. The last revision for ministers and MLAs was in March 2018, a gap of eight years.
The government justified the increase on inflation grounds. “For the last eight years, the prices of all commodities including petrol, diesel, electricity etc. have increased considerably,” the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Act said, citing the recommendation of the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs to revise salaries of ministers, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Leader of Opposition, the Chief Whip and MLAs.
For MLAs, the fixed allowance rises from ₹2,000 to ₹4,000, constituency allowance from ₹25,000 to ₹35,000, travelling allowance from ₹20,000 to ₹30,000, and sumptuary allowance from ₹8,000 to ₹13,000. Daily allowance for travel inside Keralam has been raised from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 and the air journey entitlement from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000 per annum.
For ministers, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Whip, the conveyance allowance rises from ₹17,000 to ₹25,000 and constituency allowance from ₹40,000 to ₹45,000. Interest-free vehicle advance for all members rises from ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh, low-interest housing building advance from ₹20 lakh to ₹25 lakh, and accident insurance coverage from ₹20 lakh to ₹25 lakh.
The House passed the Bill without dissent, although BJP’s Nemom MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar said he would refuse the revised pay. The Assembly was adjourned sine die soon after the Bill was passed.
