Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi possesses a double barrel gun and a rifle worth Rs one lakh, but he is no match to most of his ministers when it comes to wealth.
His total movable and immovable assets worth Rs 66.81 lakh.
Bihar Chief Minister and 30 ministers of his cabinet declared their wealth late last night, adhering to the state government's transparency norms for 2014. Incidentally, 13 of them (including Manjhi) possess various types of firearms including double barrel guns, pistols, rifles and revolvers.
Manjhi's assets do not indicate any significant growth over that in 2013. He keeps Rs 39,000 cash in hand, including Rs 17,000 with his wife. This is a little less than Rs 40,000 cash he and his wife had in 2013.
The 70-year-old chief minister has three bank accounts in SBI and Punjab National Bank (PNB) and total deposits worth Rs 13.65 lakh, but has no investment in bonds, shares or insurance policies. He also has an car purchased in 2005 and a multi-utility vehicle bought in 2011.
Manjhi has no jewellery in his name, but his wife has 60 grams of gold ornaments and 250 grams of silver, both valued together at around Rs 1.78 lakh.
As far as agricultural land is concerned, Manjhi, whose father was a manual labourer at the farms of a landlord at their native village at Mahkar village in Gaya district, owns 5 acres of cultivable land worth Rs 37 lakh there.
The Bihar chief minister has no non-agricultural land or commercial buildings except his paternal house at Mahkar village. It is spread over 2,500 sq feet and is worth Rs 13 lakh.
The ornaments, agricultural land, native house, vehicles and weapons in Manjhi's possession in 2014 do not reflect any change over 2013, when he was SC and ST Welfare Minister in former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet. Only their value has increased in the span of one year.
He had outstanding loans worth Rs 1.92 lakh taken from the state finance department to buy the SUV in his possession, but it was paid off completely in 2014.
Talking about Manjhi's ministers, Environment and Forest Minister P K Shahi is the wealthiest with movable and immovable assets worth Rs 7.29 crore including those held by his wife.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh and his wife have assets worth Rs 4.46 crore, while Road Construction Minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan has assets worth over Rs 5.34 crore.
Similarly, Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, considered close to former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has assets worth Rs 1.08 crore in own, as well as, wife's name.
Of the 31-member Bihar cabinet, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Baidyanath Sahni comes out as the least wealthy as he has declared movable and immovable property worth Rs 59 lakh.
