15 of 20 ministers in Maharashtra face criminal cases: ADR report

All the ministers are crorepatis and the average value of their assets is Rs 47.45 crore, the report says

Seventy-five per cent of the Maharashtra ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Maharashtra now has 20 ministers, including the chief minister, after the council of ministers was expanded on August 9 with the induction of 18 members.

After the cabinet expansion, the Association for Democratic Reforms and the Maharashtra Election Watch analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all ministers submitted during the assembly polls in 2019.

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According to the analysis, 15 (75 per cent) ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves and 13 (65 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

All the ministers are crorepatis and the average value of their assets is Rs 47.45 crore.

"The minister with the highest declared total assets is Mangal Prabhat Lodha from Malabar Hill constituency with assets worth Rs 441.65 crore. The minister with the lowest declared total assets is Bhumare Sandipanrao Asaram from Paithan constituency with assets worth Rs 2.92 crore," the ADR said.

There is no woman in the council of ministers.

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Eight (40 per cent) the ministers have declared their educational qualification to be between 10th and 12th standard, while 11 (55 per cent) have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above. One minister holds a diploma.

Four ministers are aged between 41-50 years and the remaining between 51-70 years.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expanded his two-member ministry by inducting 18 ministers on Tuesday, 41 days after he took oath of the office along with his deputy and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis. Of the 18 new ministers, nine each were from Shinde's rebel Shiv Sena group and the BJP.

Shinde and 39 other Shiv Sena legislators had revolted against the party leadership in June this year, which led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.