Prez declares assets worth Rs 2.49 cr

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil does not own a car but has a house and a farmhouse in her native place Amaravati in Maharashtra and her savings include investment in shares and bonds.

It is for the first time the President of India has declared his or her assets worth Rs 2.49 crore.

This is as per the declaration of assets by Patil after the Central Information Commission (CIC) advised her to declare assets on lines of similar declaration by those holding posts such as Supreme Court judges and election commissioners.

But, the CIC made it clear that it does not have powers to ask President to declare her assets, while saying that the Prime Minister has declared his assets voluntarily.

Patil was prompt to declare her assets but she did not declare assets of her family members as done by the Union Council of Ministers. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked his Cabinet colleagues to declare the assets of their entire family and possible conflict of interest.

The President has declared that she owns a house in 417 sq meters and a farmhouse in Amaravati, where she also has agriculture land. Her husband Devisingh Shekhawat hails from Amaravati. She also has additional agriculture lands in Jalgoan and Shindkhada districts of Maharastra worth Rs 25 lakh.

Among the immovable property, the President has invested in shares of PMS Bank and Pratap Co-op Bank, Sant Sugar Factory and Congress Nagar Housing Society, Amaravati.

She has also invested in bonds of the Central government's Rural Electrification Corporation and has fixed deposits worth Rs 68 lakh in different banks.

Patil does not own any vehicle and owns jewellery worth Rs 31 lakh.

With this, almost everyone in the highest level in the Central government has declared assets including senior bureaucrats and judges. But, it took almost six years after the Right To Information act was passed and that too, after a lot of resistance, especially from judiciary and bureaucrats.