E-Paper
Himanta Sarma owns assets worth ₹1.7cr; family income up by ₹10cr in 5 yrs
The minister is contesting from Jalukbari constituency for the fifth consecutive term.
NEDA convenor and Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has only ₹25,000 in cash, bank term deposits of over ₹50 lakh, and no bonds, shares or insurance policies.
The minister, in his affidavit submitted as a BJP candidate for the Assam assembly polls from Jalukbari, declared that he does not own any immovable property or car, but has assets to the tune of ₹1.72 crore - up from ₹1.02 crore in 2016.
His family income, however, has increased by more than ₹10 crore over the last five years, with his wife's assets alone having registered a hike of over ₹9 crore.
The collective wealth of the minister's family of four, which includes his two children, is currently worth ₹17.27 crore, up from ₹6.38 crore five years ago.
The 52-year-old BJP leader's son, shown as a dependent, has property worth ₹55.71 lakh, while his daughter, who had nothing to her credit in 2016, currently has movable assets to the tune of ₹52 lakh.
His wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, has assets, both movable and immovable taken together, worth ₹14.47 crore.
In 2016, it stood at ₹5.27 crore.
She has ₹31,000 cash in hand, down from ₹85,000 in 2016. Her bank deposits have increased ten times to ₹99.64 lakh from over ₹9 lakh.
Similarly, her investments in bonds, shares and mutual funds have soared to 7.22 crore from ₹29.20 lakh.
The minister has not purchased any gold since 2016, and currently has 180 gm of yellow metal, the value of which has increased to ₹7.74 lakh in 2021 from the earlier ₹5 lakh in 2016.
Riniki's gold jewellery has doubled to 1459.21 gm, valued at over ₹60 lakh, from 757 gm, which was worth ₹22.70 lakh in 2016. She possesses two cars, one of which was added after the last polls, and four non-agricultural plots.
Their children own gold, precious stones and beads worth ₹40 lakh each.
The BJP strongman currently has liabilities, which include bank loans and advances from friends and families, to the tune of ₹68.48 lakh as against ₹8 lakh five years ago.
The couple have no unpaid dues and both of them have filed income taxes, with Sarma paying ₹25 lakh and his wife ₹2.97 crore for the year 2019-20.
Sarma, a doctorate from Gauhati University, has shown government coffers as his source of income, while his wife draws salary from Pride East Entertainment Private Limited as its chairperson-cum managing director.
The minister is contesting from Jalukbari constituency for the fifth consecutive term.
