Practice what you preach — the Election Commission brought this adage to use with its chief S.Y. Quraishi and other two election commissioners V.S. Sampath and H.S. Brahma making public their immovable properties.
Quraishi owns three plots, one each in Gurgaon, Greater Noida and Agra, according to the statement of immovable property released by the Election Commission.
HUDA had allotted a 500 sq yds plot valued at Rs 63,089 at Sector 17 of Gurgaon to Quraishi way back in 1980, whose present value is pegged at Rs 1.75 crores.
The CEC also purchased a 350 sq yds plot in Greater Noida in 2006 for Rs 36 lakhs from the retirement benefits, provident fund and through bank loans, the statement said.
Quraishi also booked a 525 sq yds plot at Agra and paid Rs 8 lakhs from his savings.
According to the declaration, Sampath has purchased a 436.6 sq mt housing land for Rs 47,009 at the posh Banjara Hills in Hyderabad in 1986. The present value of the property stood at approximately at Rs 200 lakhs and fetches an annual lease rental of Rs 7.50 lakh to him.
Sampath also acquired a housing plot of 418.05 sq mt and a dwelling house built on it in 1991 at a price of Rs 68,500 in Guttala Begumpet in Andhra Pradesh. The value of the property at present is estimated to be Rs 95 lakhs. He receives an annual income of Rs 3.60 lakh from this property.
He also got a 1957 sq ft apartment for Rs 18 lakhs at Yellareddyguda in Hyderabad. The present value of this property is estimated to be Rs 40 lakhs, the statement said.
Brahma owns 40 bighas of agricultural land at Kokrajharvalued at Rs 8 lakhs and a house at Gossaigaon Town in Assam worth Rs 5 lakhs through ancestral inheritance.
He also purchased land from a cooperative society in 1989 for construction of a house at Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad for Rs 8 lakhs. The present value of the property is estimated at Rs 380 lakhs.
This property has been rented out at present and gives him a monthly income of Rs 1 lakh.
The statement, however, did not mention about the details of assets held by the family members of the three commissioners.
The Election Commission has recently brought in key changes in the criminal antecedents and assets declaration forms required to be submitted before the filing of nominations by contesting candidates.
As per the changes, the candidates will also have to declare the details of the last property purchased, along with the date of purchase and the price. They will also have to furnish the current market value of the immovable properties possessed by them.