President makes her property details public

New Delhi, Jul 25: President Pratibha Patil today made public her movable and immovable properties worth over Rs 2.49 crore after the Central Information Commission requested her to take a decision on the lines of the Prime Minister.

Patil, who completed four years in office today, posted on her website www.presidentofindia.nic.in/assets.html'' the details of immovable properties worth Rs 83.83 lakh and movable assets worth Rs 1.66 crore.

The President has a house in Amravati district of Maharashtra worth Rs 39.60 lakh and a 3.82 hectares farm house worth Rs 9.82 lakh. She has inherited 3.57 hectares agricultural land worth Rs 7.81 lakh from her father in Jalgaon and another land worth Rs 20 lakh in Dhule district.

Patil had purchased two agricultural plots of 1.19 hectares and 1.49 hectares in Jalgaon district in 1997-98 worth Rs 3.64 lakh and Rs 2.90 lakh respectively.

For immovable properties, the President has primarily relied on traditional modes of investment like fixed deposits, PPF, gold and bonds of infrastructure companies.

She has fixed deposits in various banks worth Rs 68.80 lakh, investment worth Rs 29 lakh in Rural Electrification Corporation Limited bonds, Rs 4.71 lakh in Post Office Savings Scheme and Rs 12.60 lakh in Public Provident Fund of the State Bank of India, according to the property statement of March 31, 2011.

She has gold jewellery worth Rs 31 lakh and silver articles worth Rs 69,134 as well as Rs 16.33 lakh in her savings bank accounts, besides Rs 1.87 lakh cash in hand.

As far as the share market is concerned, the President has invested only Rs 21,775. She has also invested Rs 66,640 in Sanjivini Savings and Investments Limited.

The President''s move comes after an appeal from the Central Information Commission to decide on making her assets public on the lines of the Prime Minister and other members of the Union Council of Ministers.

"Now that various functionaries like ministers, judges and Information Commissioners have voluntarily put up details of their assets on websites, it is for the President to take a decision on this matter," Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi had said last month in an order.

Activist Subhash Agrawal had sought to know the details of the assets of President Pratibha Patil and her family members and steps taken to place them on the website.

The President''s Secretariat refused to give information since the information was not available on record. It also said there was no legal requirement for the President to declare her personal as well as family''s assets.

Gandhi underlined the fact that he had no powers under the RTI act to pass any direction in this regard.

"The Commission cannot pass any direction in this regard, as it does not come within the Commission''s powers as mandated under the RTI Act," he had said.

PTI