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Journalism of Courage
Twenty-nine of the 31 ministers in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Cabinet are crorepatis, according to annual disclosures published by the Bihar Cabinet Secretariat. While Nitish has assets worth Rs 1.65 crore, his Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav has total assets worth Rs 4.68 crore.
A dozen ministers have over Rs 5 crore in assets, with Water Resources Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha being the richest, with Rs 21.66 crore. Public Health Engineering Department minister Lalit Kumar Yadav has the lowest overall assets, though he did not disclose the value of his immoveable assets.
All 31 ministers (13 from the JD-U, 15 from the RJD, two from the Congress and one Independent) declared their annual assets on the last working day of the year, as part of the standard practice established by the CM in 2011.
On average, the ministers have Rs 5 crore in assets each in 2023, up from Rs 4.55 crore in 2022. The ministers also have average liabilities of Rs 61.13 lakh, up from Rs 43.12 lakh in 2022.
While Construction Minister Ashok Chaudhary saw the highest increase in total assets from 2022, at Rs 3.94 crore, Mines and Geology Minister Ramanand Yadav saw the biggest decline, at Rs 83.01 lakh. On average, the ministers’ assets increased in value by Rs 55.27 lakh.
Among the CM’s assets are Rs 20,522 in cash, total bank deposits of Rs 48,000, and a car worth Rs 11.32 lakh, bringing his total moveable assets to Rs 16.84 lakh. Nitish also owns a flat in Delhi, purchased at Rs 13.78 lakh, with a current value of Rs 1.48 crore. He has 13 cows and 10 calves, two gold rings, a treadmill and a personal computer listed among his assets.
Deputy CM Tejashwi has Rs 50,000 in cash while his wife Rajashree Yadav has Rs 1 lakh in cash. The Deputy CM has bank deposits of more than Rs 94 lakh. Among his assets are 880 grams of gold and 2 kg of silver, though Tejashwi does not own a vehicle. He also owns plots of land in Patna and Gopalganj.
Among ministers with over Rs 5 crore in assets are Ramanand Yadav, Samir Kumar Mahaseth, Surendra Yadav, Kumar Sarvjeet, Sheela Mandal, Alok Mehta and Sanjay Kumar Jha.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Tej Pratap Yadav, who has assets worth over Rs 3.58 crore, owns two luxury cars and a bike worth over Rs 15 lakh. Like his younger brother Tejashwi, he also owns land in Patna and Gopalganj.
