45% ministers in state fail to declare assets

While state ministers and political representatives are under the scanner for spending large amounts of money on grand weddings and birthday celebrations, around 45% of senior and junior ministers in chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s 40-member team have failed to declare individual and family assets and liabilities this year.

While state ministers and political representatives are under the scanner for spending large amounts of money on grand weddings and birthday celebrations, around 45% of senior and junior ministers in chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s 40-member team have failed to declare individual and family assets and liabilities this year.

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Citing a model code of conduct that the state had adopted from the Union government, Chavan had asked his council of ministers on April 19, 2011, to submit their assets and liabilities (of kin as well).

After receiving a poor response to his directive, Chavan sent ministers a reminder on April 29, 2012.

A right to information query in January this year has revealed that only 22 ministers, including Chavan, had submitted their assets and liabilities in 2012-13 to the chief minister’s office till January 7.

Information officer in Chavan’s office, PP Gosavi, told RTI activist Anil Galgali, that the ministers had submitted documents in sealed envelopes and hence he could not share details of the declarations. But he said Chavan had already declared his assets to the governor’s office.