The Adarsh inquiry commission set up by the state government to probe into the multi-crore housing scam has sought a salary hike for its lawyers as government appointed lawyers receive triple the remunerations.

The commission which commenced working two months back to unearth the irregularities in the Adarsh housing scam has reportedly submitted an application to the state government after allegations of disparity in the salaries surfaced.

The Times of India (TOI) reported: “Adarsh commission's senior advocate Dipan Merchant is paid Rs 40,000 per day, while his junior Bharat Jhaveri gets Rs 5,000 daily. This, however, is in contrast to the package for the lawyers who represent the state. Senior advocate A Y Sakhare is paid Rs 1.15 lakh for a day's hearing. He is assisted by two juniors-- R M Vasudev and U B Nigot-- who are paid Rs 25,000 each per day. If advocate Sakhare attends the court, but there is no hearing, he is paid a retainer fee of Rs 55,000. A chamber meeting to discuss the case is Rs 7,000 per day.”

The expense borne by the state government on the payment of fees to the lawyers and salaries to retired high court judge and member apart from infrastructure upkeep is close to Rs 5 lakhs, according to the TOI.

The inquiry commission is headed by former Bombay High Court justice J A Patil with ex-Maharashtra government secretary P Subramanium as member.

"The lawyers' salaries are not high when you compare it to the fact that senior lawyers handle many cases daily and earn more than a few lakhs every day," a government official while justifying the payment of high fees to advocates told TOI. "The Adarsh lawyers are devoting their time and energy to one case, as the hearings are being conducted on a day- to-day basis. This is at the cost of other matters that they handle."