Bureaucrats in Madhya Pradesh have come clean on their immovable properties, well almost, but the exercise seems to have been moved more by the concern to hide than reveal much.
After a landmark verdict by the state’s Information Commission on February 15, the state government had asked bureaucrats, as also every government employee — barring Class IV — to post details of their immovable properties on the websites of their respective departments by April 30.
If the properties were sold for the rates listed in the column “present value” by some officers, it would surely have sparked off a crisis in the real estate market in MP. But most officers have either kept the column blank or maintained “present value not known” or not given details of the location of the property.
A flat in Bhopal or a plot in Indore is not saying much. A few have not revealed much by saying “according to market value” while some others have not bothered to share anything.
IAS couple, Arvind Joshi and Tinoo Joshi, who were suspended after I-T raids, however, are sure about their facts and valuations: Their 8.25 acre agriculture land near Bhopal has cost them Rs 1.25 crore and a 1400 sq-ft ‘super HIG’ flat in Delhi’s Dwarka locality Rs 50 lakh. At Rs 1.75 crore, the total value of the Joshis’ properties is much less than the Rs 3 crore in cash recovered from their government bungalow in the state capital in early February. The 1979 batch couple has not shared details of movable properties because it was not required.
Anju Singh Baghel, who was suspended for allowing exchange of prime government land with private land when she was posted in Katni as Collector, owns 30-acre land in Satna district, which is valued at Rs 20 lakh. She owns three more residential properties valued in all at Rs 21 lakh.
Dr Rajesh Rajora, who was suspended for alleged irregularities in the Health Department he headed in 2007 as Commissioner, does not know the present value of a four-acre property he owns near Bhopal.
Vishwapati Trivedi, who is on deputation to the Centre, owns a 2000 sq-ft plot in Vasant Kunj in New Delhi and a 350 sq-mt plot in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, valued at Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3.69 lakh, respectively. Neither is up for sale.
The IAS officer owns 450 sq yd plot in Noida, valued at Rs 1,800 per sq m, and a 408 metre plot in Gurgaon, Haryana, valued at Rs 19.82 lakh. But then his present value column has a qualifier in bracket “acquisition value”. He had purchased the properties in the 1990s, but has not calculated the present value.
Many promoted officers have revealed more income than the direct recruits. In fact, the richest IAS officer, according to the details on the website, is Santosh Mishra with properties worth Rs 5.40 crore.
Congress leader Choudhary Rakesh Singh whose application under the RTI led to the verdict is not impressed with the details and alleges that the under-valuation is deliberate.
Elected representatives like him have a reason to complain because the affidavits they submit to the Election Commission before polls is much more revealing with details of vehicles and other investments, something the bureaucrats don’t have to do.
Following the ‘disclosure’ by bureaucrats, some legislators, including those belonging to the ruling BJP, have said the real purpose will be served only if the babus are asked to part with details of properties they acquired after joining the service.
State’s Chief Information Commissioner P P Tiwari, however, said the purpose of his verdict was served.
-http://bit.ly/d3CPho
Nice Post...Thanks for sharing the information....
ReplyDelete