MUMBAI, April 23 -- Just three months after being elected following a four-year hiatus, Mumbai's corporators are demanding a raise. After all, corporators serve 12 million citizens, making sure essential services are delivered and addressing grievances on matters such as cleanliness, water, roads, garbage disposal, and so much more, they argue. They also point out that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) can well afford to raise their remuneration, given its whopping Rs.80,952 crore annual budget. The demand for a raise has been made by Samajwadi Party corporator Amrin Shehzad Abrahani in a letter to mayor Ritu Tawde. According to Abrahani, the honorarium should go up from Rs.25,000 per month, at present, to Rs.1 lakh. She has also demanded the introduction of a staff allowance of Rs.25,000 per month and a travel allowance of Rs.20,000. Alternatively, a vehicle should be provided for official use. Corporators who complete one term, or more, should be given a pension, her letter states. Corporators must also be provided with office space in their respective wards, the latter adds. Abrahani reasons that corporators' remuneration should be at par with that of legislators, who receive between Rs.1.6 lakh and Rs.2.5 lakh a month, in addition to perks such as an official car, staff and a pension. In her letter to Tawde, Abrahani has urged her to constitute an all-party committee to study this subject and present a proposal on this to the civic administration. While many corporators broadly agree with Abrahani's view for an increase in their honorarium, they feel Rs.1 lakh may be stretching it. A generous raise would, however, help with the staffing and administrative aspects of being a corporator. Most of them hail from a middle-class background, they argue, and need financial support for the work they do. Congress corporator from Santacruz Tulip Miranda, said, "While there should be a raise, it could be about 50%. The honorarium was Rs.10,000 in 2012, when my husband was a corporator. As it was insufficient, my husband raised a point of order in 2017, after which the sum was increased to Rs.25,000." She said a corporator spends on maintaining an office, personal assistants and on stationery. Considering inflation, the current Rs. 25,000 is insufficient, she said, adding, "Since it is an honorarium, not a salary, the BMC could increase it up to Rs.50,000." Others like Ganesh Khankar from the Bharatiya Janata Party said that while his party was yet to take an official view, he noted, "On a personal level, I feel a hike is justified since a corporator works practically round the clock. It's almost like a full-time job." Deepak Padwal of the Shiv Sena (UBT) said a hike is long overdue considering inflation over the years. "There are so many additional expenses like an office, a personal assistant, a typewriter to issue letters etc, and these people need to be paid," said Padwal, refusing to put a figure to the hike. "A Mumbai corporator has almost 60,000 people spread across 4-5km in his constituency, and incurs expenses on fuel for travelling, stationery, etc, during their work. All this needs to be considered when calculating allowances," he said. Yashwant Killedar, group leader, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) said it's been three months since they were elected, but corporators are yet to receive their honorarium. "Around 70% of corporators hail from a middle-class background. Moreover, being a corporator is a demanding vocation, requiring full-time focus, which makes holding a regular job difficult. While the few affluent corporators among us can afford this, it becomes difficult for the majority of middle-class individuals, who genuinely need this honorarium. Since we cannot distinguish between middle-class and affluent corporators, a hike in the honorarium must be approved for all," he said....