Speaker’s policy frees MLAs hostels

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With many legislators taking accommodations in MLA hostels to be just another perk that comes with the chair by renting them out illegally to pocket some extra cash, Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar has finally hit the nail on its head to address the problem.

Mr Manohar’s tactic was simple. He first doubled the monthly house rent allowance (HRA) limit of MLAs from the existing Rs 12,500 to Rs 25,000 and then put out a rider: MLAs can either claim the HRA if they do not want to avail of state accommodation, or forego the allowance if they live in the rent-free hostels.

Enticed by the hefty HRA, most MLAs who rented out their government-allotted quarters asked their ‘tenants’ to either pay them Rs 25,000 or vacate the flats. Feeling the pinch on their pocket, several outsiders, it is learnt, have vacated the flats in MLA hostels over the last fortnight.

This has enabled officials to allot rooms in MLA hostel to those in queue, mostly legislators from Rayalaseema region, who cannot stay outside due to security reasons. “I wanted to bring in some discipline and curb the menace (of renting out flats in MLA hostels). The new order on HRA seems to be working,” Speaker Manohar told this newspaper.

Besides the new MLA quarters at Adarshnagar and old MLA quarters at Hyderguda, a few more quarters are available for legislators in Erramanzil and Punjagutta government officers’ quarters. All these premises are located in central Hyderabad and are accessible to important areas. But, for decades, a significant number of these official flats were illegally rented out, either to outsiders or former legislators. Some MLAs who lived in the hostels also got additional quarters, occupied by relatives and friends.

As another problem, several former MLAs refuse to vacate the accommodations even after they have been allotted to new legislators post-elections. While the earlier monthly HRA of Rs 1,000 tempted some legislators to rent out the quarters in MLA hostels and stay outside either in their own house or in rented houses, the HRA was later increased to Rs 12,500 per month. With the problem still persisting, the amount was recently doubled.

Simultaneously, the Speaker wrote to all MLAs, asking them to choose between the HRA and free accommodation at MLAs hostels. So far 12 Legislators have opted for availing HRA in lieu of accommodation in hostels, mostly from Adarshanagar New MLA quarters. Recently, the government had demolished 34 single room quarters in the new MLA hostel at Adarshnagar to construct a new residential complex. All the single room quarters were used by former legislators. The Speaker said it will take some more time to get the full picture.