Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik is the richest among his ministerial colleagues. His total movable and immovable property is estimated to be around `12 crores.
According to the assets and liabilities list published by the state government on last night, the chief minister owns a farmhouse and building worth `3.43 crores in Haryana’s Faridabad, a house worth `5.14 crores at Aurangzeb Road, New Delhi and immovable properties at Bhubaneswar.
Of the 22 ministers in the Naveen Patnaik council of ministers, 12 own properties worth over `1 crore.
Mr Patnaik’s schoolmate and planning and coordination minister A.U. Singhdeo is the second richest person with `4.80 crores property while finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei owns wealth worth `2.80 crores.
Revenue minister S.N. Patro (`2.23 crores), civil supplies minister Niranjan Pujari (`1.77 crores), agriculture minister Pradip Moharathy (`1.74 crores), forest minister Debi Prasad Mishra (`1.67 crores) are other prominent figures among the crorepati ministers’ list. The poorest one in the state council of ministers is scheduled caste and scheduled tribe development minister Lal Bihari Himrika. His total property has been estimated at `18 lakh.
The chief minister’s office, which put the asset and liabilities list into the government website last evening, said the property list publication was “one more step towards transparency.”
The opposition Congress and BJP leaders said the chief minister, after delaying for over 11 years, published the list ahead of the coming Umerkote assembly polls to woo the voters.