Winter session of Tripura Assembly to begin from January 10

The sixth session of the 13th Tripura Assembly will begin on Friday and a bill would be moved in the House amending the existing law to provide retirement benefits to all MLAs who have served even for just a day.

The business days during the Assembly session have been finalized by the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) during a meeting on January 1st last.

On the first day of the session, Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu would give his customary address to the House.

Official sources said that the Governor in his address would highlight the performance and vision of the state government. In his address, he would mention the road map of the state government.

In the amendment bill, to be moved in the session, it would be proposed that if a member of the Assembly just took the oath and served a day as an MLA, he or she would get all the retirement benefits, including pension, and housing loan.

According to the official, as per the last amendment in 2022 to the Salaries, Allowances, Pensions and Other Benefits of the Ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Leader of the Opposition, the Chief Whip under the 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.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that three important bills, including the amendment bill modifying the existing law to provide retirement benefits to MLAs, would be moved.

He said that the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), in its meeting on January 1st, unanimously decided to hold a three-day winter session from January 10.

Nath said that the three-day Assembly session would include private member resolutions, the introduction and a discussion on three bills, apart from discussion on various other issues.

On the first day of the session on January 10, Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu would give his customary address to the house. The Governor in his address would highlight the performance and vision of the state government, said Nath.

A bill would be moved in the Winter session of the Tripura Assembly amending the existing law to provide retirement benefits to MLAs who have served even for just a day.

Official sources said that if a member of the Assembly just took the oath and served a day as an MLA, he or she would get the retirement benefits, including pension, and housing loan.

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.

Sources added that the salary, allowances, pensions and family pensions of the Ministers, sitting MLAs, and former MLAs would be increased under the proposed bill.

Assembly Speaker Biswabandhu Sen said several steps, including allowing visitors with valid passes to enter the House and restriction on usage of mobile phones during the session, have been taken to ensure security during the Winter Session.

The last Winter Session of the Tripura Assembly started on January 5, and continued till January 11. During the session, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha moved a motion to raise funds under the Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development (MLALAD) Scheme. The motion for sanctioning an annual expenditure of Rs. 45 crore for the current allocation of Rs. 30 crore was passed with a majority.