Rs 65 crore to Rs 42 lakh: the high and low of Naveen Ministry

While that still makes Patnaik the richest among his Cabinet colleagues, the CM continues to be without a vehicle in his name barring an inherited 1980-model Ambassador – a status that has not changed in the 23-plus years that he has now been in power, since March 2000. The Ambassador, with current market value of Rs 6,434, was inherited by Patnaik from his father and former CM Biju Patnaik.

With passing years, the value of the car has been depreciating, from Rs 30,000 in Patnaik’s 2004 election affidavit to Rs 8,905 in his 2019 poll affidavit.

The bachelor CM’s movable property amounts to Rs 12.52 crore, including bank accounts in New Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Hinjilicut (his Assembly constituency), and Bargarh, along with jewellery and that Ambassador.

Patnaik’s immovable assets include two-third share in Naveen Niwas, his residence in the Odisha capital, worth approximately Rs 9.52 crore and a 50 per cent share in the property at 3, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Road, New Delhi, worth about Rs 43.36 crore. Both are properties he inherited from parents Biju and Gyan Patnaik.

Besides, Patnaik has fixed deposits worth Rs 1 crore in HDFC Bank, RBI bonds of Rs 9 crore and a post-office deposit of Rs 1.50 crore. His bank deposits include Rs 70.11 lakh in a bank at Janpath, New Delhi, and Rs 20.87 lakh in the State Bank of India at Bhubaneswar. He has total deposits of Rs 64,187 in four other accounts in different places.

He owns jewellery worth around Rs 3.49 lakh.

Among his ministry colleagues, 14 of the currently 19 ministers (two resigned recently) are crorepatis, including Niranjan Pujari, Usha Devi, Ranendra Pratap Swain, Pramila Mallik, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Pratap Keshari Deb, Rajendra Dholakia, Basanti Hembram, Tukuni Sahu, Pradip Kumar Amat, Ashok Chandra Panda, Pritiranjan Gharai, Rohit Pujari and Aswini Patra.

The “poorest” appears to be Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallik, with assets amounting to Rs 42 lakh, as per details he has uploaded.

Mallik is a four-time MLA from Kamakhyanagar constituency in Dhenkanal district, who has been winning the seat continuously since 2004. He has been the Steel and Mines Minister since 2014.