The salaries, allowances and other perks of elected representatives, including legislators and ministers, are increased from time to time not only to meet the cost of living and other expenses, but also, presumably, to make them immune to corrupt practices.

As the concept of “serving” the people has long been given a go-by, there is nothing wrong in those elected on behalf of the people expecting and getting compensated for the work they do.

For almost five decades since Independence, such compensation had been within reasonable limits, as the elected representatives till about 1990s perhaps considered that their positions would help them to serve the people, rather than be a source of making money at public expense.

Such noble thought and intention must have persuaded the framers of the Constitution to give the legislators themselves the power to revise their salaries and allowances whenever they felt the need.

But the Karnataka government’s move to double the monthly house rent allowance (HRA) of the ministers from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 and the annual furnishing allowance of their official bungalows from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 is nothing but crass opportunism.

The rents in Bangalore are no doubt very high compared to other cities, but it should be remembered that the ministers already enjoy a lot of other benefits at the cost of the tax-payers.

In fact Mr T N Chaturvedi, who reluctantly gave his nod to the proposal just two days before demitting office as Governor, warned the government that “this sudden increase may attract criticism against the ministers as well as the government.”

This should persuade the powers that be to desist from going ahead with it. That the legislators even want their perks increased abnormally goes to show that a sense of propriety and decency has deserted the law-makers and they are ready to go to any length to fatten their purses.

Considering that such malaise is not confined to Karnataka and even parliamentarians have been prone to reward themselves excessively, perhaps a time has come for an amendment to the Constitution entrusting the revision of salaries and allowances of all elected representatives to an independent body, having nothing to do with either the executive or the legislature.

It could be on the lines of a pay commission constituted every five years or so. The elected representatives should realise that they are being treated as trustees and they could soon end up losing the public trust beyond remedy.