In recent asset declaration, Bihar ministers paint selves poorer than wives

Any idea about who is prospering by leaps and bounds under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar, headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar? The answer is — the wives of the ministers in Kumar’s cabinet.

Sounds weird, but that’s exactly what the details of assets declared by Bihar’s ministers on New Year’s Eve, have revealed.

The Bihar cabinet has a total of 33 ministers including the chief minister.

Even though the state’s ministers seem to have acquired more property over the years, it is their wives who have left them far behind whether it comes to accumulating assets, bank balance or having cash in hand.

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Topping the chart is deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi. According to his property declaration, Modi has total assets worth ₹1.26 crore whereas his wife has assets worth ₹1.65 crore. Similarly, Modi has a lesser bank balance of ₹81.54 lakh against ₹97.17 lakh owned by his wife. He owns barely 105 grams of gold while his wife has gold jewellery worth half a kilogram.

Water resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha has a similar story to tell. Jha, who is a partner in two big business firms – DLF and Peach Tree – has total assets worth ₹1.93 crore against ₹2.97 crore-worth assets owned by his wife. Jha owns jewellery worth ₹5 lakh, while his wife owns the same worth ₹13 lakh.

The case of planning and development minister Maheshwar Hazari is no different either. He has declared his total assets worth ₹1.1 crore whereas his wife’s assets total to ₹2.45 crore. Similarly, minister for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes Ramesh Rishideo declared assets worth ₹1.4 crore while his wife is richer by 28 lakh.

Building construction department minister Ashok Chaudhary claims to have a total bank balance of ₹12.31 lakh whereas his wife has ₹32.87 lakh deposited in banks. Again, the minister owns a revolver worth ₹1 lakh while his wife owns another worth ₹2.5 lakh. Quite like him, science and technology minister Jai Kumar Singh has a bank balance of ₹3.22 lakh while his wife has ₹25 lakh in her accounts.

A ploy to evade tax

Experts term this unusual disparity between the assets of ministers and their wives as a ploy to hide their wealth in a bid to cultivate a different image before society. They also question why the ministers have not declared the source of income of their wives, especially when they own huge wealth.

“As such, the ministers have discovered a new route to hide their property by transferring them to their wives. It has double benefits. While on the one hand, it has created a different image before the society, on the other they are availing multiple tax exemptions by getting their wives buy properties,” says prominent economist Dr DM Diwakar.

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He says, the Bihar government has been granting various tax benefits and rebates to women in matter of buying properties, registry, availing loans and stamp duty, and this has apparently prompted the ministers to keep their wives on this front. “That’s why they are investing money in the name of wives,” he adds.

The Bihar government also facilitates tax exemption for those buying houses in the name of their wife.

Likewise, several Indian states are now offering a partial waiver on stamp duty for buyers registering properties in woman’s name. For example Jharkhand is charging only ₹1 from women whereas for males the stamp duty is 7 per cent. Apart from this, several banks, such as SBI, HDFC and ICICI are offering discounts on home loan interest rates to women as compared to men.

What’s the source?

“The fact is that the ministers’ property is growing and their asset declaration is just an eyewash,” says Diwakar, adding that the declaration of their assets doesn’t hold any meaning if they don’t declare their source of income.

Anti-corruption crusader Shiv Prakash Rai says the ministers are using their wives as a “cover” to conceal their income. “There would have been transparency had the ministers declared the source of family income but the move has raised only questions than giving the answers,” he says.

“The million dollar question that haunts every mind now is that from where the ministers’ wives are earning when they are not employed? How their property is doubling and tripling?” asks Rai.