NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Friday cleared the proposal seeking a hike in the basic pay of Members of Parliament by more than three times from Rs 16,000 to Rs 50,000.

However, this is much less than the figure of Rs 80,001 recommended by the parliamentary committee which had said the MPs should get more than government secretaries as the former are above them in the hierarchy.

The government also increased office expenses of parliamentarians from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 per month. The constituency allowance has also been doubled from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 per month, government sources said.

The limit for interest-free loan for MPs for buying a personal vehicle has been hiked four-fold to Rs 4 lakh from the present Rs 1 lakh.

The government has also hiked road mileage rate for vehicles used by MPs from Rs 13 per km to Rs 16 per km.

Spouse of a parliamentarian can now travel any number of times in first class or executive class, the sources said.

Pension benefits have also been increased from Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000 per month.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had given her nod to revision of salary for MPs, a contentious issue which has put the government in the line of fire of angry members across party lines.

"As a pilot with Indian Airlines, Rajiv Gandhi drew more salary than his mother Indira Gandhi who was prime minister of India," Sonia Gandhi said.