Himachal legislators declare massive income increases

A third of the candidates contesting the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls on November 4 have declared annual incomes of over Rs 1 cr

The value of assets of sitting Himachal Pradesh legislators has shot up by 172 per cent in the last five years , an election watch body said here on Thursday .

A third of the candidates contesting the Assembly polls on November 4 have declared annual incomes of over Rs 1 crore.

This in sharp contrast to the per capita income of the state, which stands at Rs 68,000, as compared to around Rs 40,000 five years ago .

“One hundred and forty-six candidates have an income of over Rs 1 crore,” said Jagdeep Chhokar, founder member of the National Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms.

 

“Brij Behari Lal Butail, the Congress candidate from Palampur, tops the list. He has assets worth almost Rs 170 crore, up from around Rs 92 crore in 2007. He is followed by Balbir Singh Verma, an independent from Chopal, with assets worth Rs 41 crore,” said Chhokar.

The average asset per candidate for the Congress is Rs 7.4 crore, Rs 1.55 crore for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Rs 1.72 crore for the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM).

“Also, 79 out of the 445 contesting candidates (18 per cent) have not declared their permanent account number (PAN) details. These include three candidates who have an income of over Rs 1 crore,” the National Election Watch (NEW) said .

Other details analysed by NEW include education qualifications, gender and age .

At least 56 per cent are qualified as graduates or above. The list also displays a strong gender bias, with only six per cent candidates being women. Out of 445 candidates, 42 are above the age of 65 years.

The average growth in the assets of candidates that are recontesting is 122 per cent. There are 112 such candidates.

The highest percentage increase (7,463 per cent) in assets has been declared by Bumber Thakur, the Congress candidate from Bilaspur . His assets have gone up from Rs 135,000 five years ago to Rs 1.02 crore.

Among sitting legislators, Subhash Chand Manglet, the Congress legislator from Chopal, has declared the highest percentage increase in assets — 3,621 per cent — from around Rs 20 lakh to over Rs 7.2 crore.

Sanjay Kumar a Bahujan Samaj Party legislator from Kangra has shown a 1,959-per cent jump, while the BJP’s Rajiv Sahjal has declared a rise of 1,936 per cent .

Only four MLAs have reported a decrease in assets.

“Politics is no longer a public service. There is a corporatisation of politics; politicians work like corporate entities now,” said Chhokar.