How much should our members of Parliament (MPs) be paid? The question provokes more heat than light. Despite near-free housing, electricity and water in Delhi, most MPs use few of these perks; much of their time is spent in their constituencies. Contrary to popular belief, our MPs are paid miserably by global standards: a basic salary of Rs 50,000 per month and two allowances that add up to less than Rs 1,00,000. This is peanuts compared to what senior corporate executives earn.

Contrary to popular perception, MPs work at least as hard — often harder — than corporate bosses. They have no job security and last got a hike in 2010. Now, parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu wants to set up an independent panel to calculate how much our lawmakers should be paid. The UK’s Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), tasked with revising the pay of British MPs in 2011, found that over the last five-, 10- and 15-year periods, the salaries of MPs grew slower than wage hikes across the economy and the public sector.

This year, Ipsa recommends a one-time boost in salaries and annual hikes indexed to public sector wage increases. An allparty committee of legislators can do the same thing in India. If we continue to pay peanuts, we are likely to get simians with sticky fingers in lawmaking and administration. While revising MPs’ salaries, India must reform campaign finance. No political party is funded transparently. Often MPs are asked to pony up funds for their parties, individual leaders and finance constituency networks. A more transparent system of political funding will eliminate much of the graft that arises from quid-pro-quo deals. More than an independent panel to determine MPs’ salaries, we need comprehensive overhaul of political funding.