Muzaffar Baig assetless; loses Rs 20 cr assets in 10 yrs
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Sept 12: Peoples Conference chairman and former Minister Sajad Gani Lone’s assets and income has declined and liabilities have increased during the last one decade while former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig lost all his assets during the same period.
According to his affidavit, 57-year-old Sajad Gani Lone, contesting from Handwara, has declared movable assets worth Rs 71 lakh in his name, while his wife owns assets valued at Rs 56 lakh. His declared annual income for 2019-20 was Rs 51.85 lakh, but this figure dropped to Rs 37.77 lakh in 2023-24.
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The former separatist, who later served as a Minister in the PDP-BJP Government, owns immovable assets worth Rs 11.20 crore, with total liabilities of Rs 6.59 crore in the form of various loans from banks.
Lone, a Graduate of Cardiff University, declared his source of income as a pension, while his wife has no declared source of income.
In 2014, his declared assets were worth Rs 13 crore, with liabilities amounting to Rs 1 crore. His declared annual income 10 years ago was Rs 11 lakh.
Senior politician and former Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig, contesting as an Independent candidate from the Baramulla Assembly segment, has also seen a dip in his annual income. He has declared movable assets worth Rs 40.50 lakh, while his wife, Safina Baig, owns assets worth Rs 1.78 crore.
The 78-year-old Baig, who holds an LLM from Cambridge (1973), reported a decrease in his annual income from Rs 18 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for the financial year 2022-23.
With no liabilities and pension as his declared source of income, he owns no immovable assets, while his wife holds immovable property worth Rs 7.55 crore. In 2014, Baig declared assets worth Rs 20 crore with a liability of Rs 1 crore and an annual income of Rs 13 lakh.
His wife, a 52-year-old with a BA-LLB (2000), who is also contesting as an Independent from the Wagoora-Kreeri Assembly segment, has declared a steady annual income of Rs 11 lakh, with movable assets and a liability of Rs 40 lakh. Her source of income is her salary as a DDC Chairperson.
Veteran politician and former legislator Nizam Uddin Bhat, previously associated with the PDP, then the PC, and now contesting on a Congress ticket from Bandipora, has reported a dip in his annual income from Rs 5.78 lakh in 2020-21 to Rs 4.21 lakh in 2023-24.
Bhat owns movable assets worth Rs 7.59 lakh, while his wife holds assets worth Rs 52,000. The 77-year-old politician, a Law Graduate from Kashmir University, also owns immovable property worth Rs 22 lakh, while his wife holds assets valued at Rs 2 crore.
With a pension as his declared source of income, he has liabilities of Rs 2 lakh, while his spouse has liabilities of Rs 20 lakh. In 2014, he declared assets worth Rs 2 crore with liabilities of Rs 8 lakh. His declared income 10 years ago was Rs 9.90 lakh.
Another senior politician, Apni Party leader and former Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir, contesting from the Gulmarg Assembly constituency, has reported a slight increase in his annual income, from Rs 10.80 lakh in 2019-20 to Rs 11.28 lakh in 2023-24.
Mir, a B.A. LL.B Graduate from Aligarh Muslim University, has declared movable assets worth Rs 85 lakh in his name, while his wife owns assets valued at Rs 3.66 lakh.
With pension and income from his profession-as he has declared himself an advocate-listed as his source of annual income, he owns immovable property worth Rs 3.91 crore, while his wife owns such property valued at Rs 4.77 lakh.
Ten years ago, Mir had declared assets worth Rs 3 crore and an annual income of Rs 10 lakh.
Senior journalist Syed Tajamul Islam, who recently joined the PDP after years of leaning towards the party, has declared his annual income as Rs 7.86 lakh, up from Rs 3.93 lakh in 2022-23.
The 46-year-old, contesting from Bandipora, has declared movable assets worth Rs 12.96 lakh, while his wife owns assets valued at Rs 10 lakh. He also owns immovable assets worth Rs 2.50 crore, with liabilities of Rs 5.50 lakh. His declared sources of income are business and journalism.