October 19,1998
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GUJARAT Nothing More to Declare The Gujarat CM's attempt to introduce transparency by getting his ministers to declare their assets raises some titters. By Uday Mahurkar
The Keshubhai Patel Government's move to get its ministers to reveal their assets, though well intentioned, revealed some glaring examples which are now inviting ridicule. While Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh assessed the plot allotted to him in Gandhinagar at Rs 8 lakh, Health Minister Ashok Bhatt put the value of a similar plot at a piffling Rs 14,500. While Singh assessed the current market value of his property, Bhatt stated the subsidised rate at which the Government allotted the plot to him five years ago.
In fact, the list is anything but a barometer of transparency. While ministers are often seen zipping around in their Marutis, only five of the 28 ministers have declared that they own cars. At least eight ministers are known to own licenced revolvers but only Prohibition Minister Fakir Vaghela has declared that he owns one, pegging its value at Rs 61,000. And not one minister has declared that he owns a mobile phone. The richest man in the Gujarat Ministry is Deputy Minister for Industry and Tourism Khodbhai Patel, a Mehsana-based industrialist whose assets are worth Rs 1.36 crore. Close at his heels is Deputy Minister for Forests Prabhatsinh Chauhan (Rs 1.33 crore), a farmer who makes Rs 30 lakh annually from agriculture. The third crorepati is Narmada Development Minister Jainarayan Vyas, a project consultant whose assets add up to Rs 1.19 crore. At the other end of the ladder is Deputy Minister for Tribal Development Mangubhai Patel, a swayamsevak whose spartan lifestyle is commensurate with the Rs 5.35 lakh worth of assets he has declared. Like Mangubhai, Singh (assets declared: Rs 65 lakh) is one of the few ministers whose declaration of assets has not been contested. Unlike most who declared only their personal wealth, Singh also declared that his family does not own any asset besides 500 gm of gold jewellery. He is among the few who assessed the assets at their current value. His bungalow in Vadodara, for instance, was built in the late '80s for Rs 12 lakh but he declared its current value of Rs 45 lakh. For long, governments in Gujarat have epitomised graft. The nadir was reached two years ago when the Shankersinh Vaghela regime came to be known as the "cash and carry regime". When Keshubhai Patel regained power last year, he vowed to keep a hawk's eye on those indulging in graft. The titters notwithstanding, BJP leaders defend the move. "Has any government done it before? It is certainly a step, however small, in ushering in transparency," asserts state BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya. "By declaring their assets, our ministers have set a precedent," adds state BJP General Secretary Gordhan Zadaphia. Nobody's disputing that. It's only the manner in which the assets were valued that is being questioned. Admits Singh: "Declaring the value of only those assets which are in the minister's name renders the exercise incomplete." Fortunately for the Government, the ridicule coming its way is from within. Opposition leaders have so far not challenged the declarations made by the BJP ministers. Perhaps that's because they live in glass houses. |
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Gujarat Revenue Minister Vajubhai Vala
is a man of modest means. His personal assets are not worth more than Rs 16 lakh. At least
that is what Vala, a prominent builder and real-estate developer, would have everyone
believe. Last week, when the BJP Government in Gujarat kept its eight-month-old poll
promise and got its ministers to declare their assets, Vala's name was closer to the
bottom of the list. Says a senior BJP leader sarcastically, "It's the news of the
week that a leading builder like Vala is just worth Rs 16 lakh." 
