Patna: In a bid to maintain transparency,
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy SK Modi and
their council of ministers have declared movable and immovable
assets of themselves and their spouses, officials said on Tuesday.
In 2011, Kumar had asked his cabinet colleagues to
declare the details of their assets by the end of every year.
Kumar said the objective was to maintain transparency
in administration as the details of their assets would be
placed on government websites for public scrutiny.
Under the exercise, public servants from grade one to
grade III would also have to declare the individual movable
and immovable assets and also of their spouse.
CM and his son's assets include ancestral land,
residential buildings in Bakhtiyarpur, a plot at Kankerbagh,
post office accounts, National Saving certificates, Kisan
Vikas Patra, bank A/Cs, ornaments and receipts from government
on A/C salary, GPF, gratuity etc inherited from Kumar's wife
who was a school teacher before death.
However in terms of cash in hand, Nitish Kumar has
over Rs 46,000 this year from Rs 36,000 in December 2010.
Kumar's current market value of immovable assets is
worth Rs forty lakh. The movable assets include a Santro car
of 2003 model and an old TV set, and an old air conditioner, a
fridge and a cooler.
In contrast Modi's cash bouquet increased to less than
Rs 15,000 from Rs 26,000 in December 2010.
All 28 ministers have put up list of their assets on
display in public domain on Monday. This has been done for the
second consecutive year.
The assets declaration filed by rural works
development minister Bhim Singh shows that the gross total
value of his movable assets is worth Rs 29 lakh while that of
his wife is worth Rs 16 lakh.
Significantly, not much differences have been noticed
in the declaration of assets made by the ministers by the end
of December 2010 and December 2011.
The richest member in Bihar ministry is P K Sahi, a
lawyer turned politician who has declared movable and
immovable properties around Rs 6 crore.
Taking a cue from the declaration of assets by
ministers and officials it has also been made mandatory for
all the legislators to declare the details of their assets
every year.
Deputy Chief Minister Modi has immovable assets
valued at present market price worth Rs 76.97 lakh.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 03, 2012, 21:13