31 former MLAs in Akola district draw pension, two get the highest at Rs 72,000 a month

Thirty-one former MLAs of Akola district are currently receiving pension from the government. The pension is paid to former members of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.

Under the rules, a former legislator who has completed at least one term gets a pension starting at Rs 50,000 a month. The amount rises with each additional term, so what each former MLA receives differs according to the length of service.

According to the available information, the pension for these 31 former MLAs costs the government lakhs of rupees every month. Taking Rs 50,000 a month as the minimum for all 31, the outgo comes to at least Rs 1.55 crore a month and at least Rs 18.20 crore a year. The actual expenditure is higher, because some get an enhanced pension for additional terms. The records show that some former MLAs receive more than Rs 50,000.

Meanwhile, the arrangement of a minimum pension of Rs 50,000 a month for former legislators was challenged in the Nagpur bench in 2026. The case has revived discussion on the policy of pensions for legislators.

Under government rules, the widow of a pensioner is paid half the pension after his death. Ten former MLAs in the district who drew pension have died, and their widows are now receiving half the pension as family pension.

One leader in the district draws pensions as both a legislator and an MP. Former Union minister Sanjay Dhotre was elected MLA from the Murtizapur assembly constituency and later became an MP as well. He is now entitled to both pensions. He is the only former MP in the district who does so.

The highest pension is going to two former MLAs: Sudhakar Gangane, former MLA from the Akot assembly constituency, and Azhar Hussain, former MLA from the Akola assembly constituency. Each is paid Rs 72,000 a month. Gopikishan Bajoria, who was a member of the Legislative Council three times, gets a pension of Rs 70,000.