3 Election Commissioners lead by example; declare assets

New Delhi, Jun 4: The Election Commission sure believes in leading by example when three election commissioners, S Y Quraishi, V S Sampath and H S Brahma revealed to the public a list of their immovable properties.

According to the announcement by the Election Commission, the Chief Election Commissioner Quraishi owns three plots each in Gurgaon, Greater Noida and Agra. He has a HUDA allotted plot of 500 sq yds at Sector 17 of Gurgaon that is valued at Rs 63,089 and was acquired in 1980. The CEC also revealed details of his Greater Noida plot purchased using his combined retirement benefits, provident funds and bank loans in 2006 for Rs 36 lakhs. He also bought a 525 sq yds plot at Agra with Rs 8 lakhs from his savings.

Sampath on the other hand,according to EC's submission purchased a 436.6 sq mt housing land for Rs 47,009 in Hyderabad near Banjara Hills in 1986. The estimated present value of it is Rs 200 lakhs. It also earns an annual lease rental of Rs 7.50 lakh to him. He also has an additional housing plot of 418.05 sq mt with a house built on it in 1991 at a price of Rs 68,500 in Guttala Begumpet in Andhra Pradesh. The current value of the property is estimated to be Rs 95 lakhs. He receives an annual income of Rs 3.60 lakh from this property. Also among his assets are a 1,957 sq ft apartment for Rs 18 lakhs at Yellareddyguda, Hyderabad that holds a present value of Rs 40 lakhs.

Meanwhile, Brahma owns 40 bighas of agricultural land at Kokrajhar valued at Rs 8 lakhs. He also owns a house at Gossaigaon town, Assam worth Rs 5 lakhs through ancestral inheritance. In 1989, he also bought land from a cooperative society to build a house at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad for Rs 8 lakhs. The present value of the property has shot up to a whopping Rs 380 lakhs. He has rented out the place giving him a monthly income of Rs 1 lakh.

The Commissions statement, however, did not include the assets held by the kith and kin of the three commissioners. But, the effort sure acts a welcome move from those who stress that politicians ought to declare their assets to the public.

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