Eatala Jamuna declares assets worth Rs. 52.26 cr; Couple owns wealth worth Rs. 73 Cr

Hyderabad: Eatala Jamuna, the wife of TRS-turned-BJP man for Huzurabad by-polls Eatala Rajender, own assets worth a whopping Rs. 52.26 crore while her husband is worth Rs. 20.80 crore. Together, the couple's wealth is worth Rs. 73 crores, according to the election affidavit.

The 56-year-old Jamuna submitted her nomination papers sans the B-form to the returning officer, Karimnagar district, on 4 October. The word going around is that Jamuna will contest the by-elections if her husband who is currently facing cases of land encroachment and corruption is arrested just before the elections.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced 30 October as the polling day and 2 November for the announcement of results. The by-poll will decide the fate of Mr. Rajender, a two-time minister in the TRS Cabinet and once a close aide of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. He switched over to BJP after a fall out with KCR and the TRS. He is currently facing two cases. The TRS has fielded Gellu Srinivas Yadhav - TRSV president against Eatala while the Congress after much delay named Balamoor Venkat Narsing Rao, president of the party's student wing NSUI (National Students Union of India) in Telangana

Given the high possibility of Mr. Rajender facing an arrest during the campaigning, Jamuna, in her affidavit, has mentioned that she is the candidate "set up" by the BJP.

Her movable properties include mutual funds; shares in Jamuna Hatcheries Private Limited; investment in Abaya Developers, north east projects, SVS Archman, and Dolarite; and jewellery worth Rs. 5 crore – all amounting to Rs. 28. 68 crore. Her husband's movable properties are worth Rs. 6.20 crore. Together, the couple owns movable properties worth Rs. 34.88 crore.

Ms. Jamuna also owns immovable properties including Rs. 9.78 crore investments in agriculture lands (by means of development and construction) and Rs. 14.78 crore in non-agriculture land, while her husband owns properties worth Rs. 14.50 crore.

Liabilities

Ms. Jamuna and Mr. Rajender have liabilities in the form of loans worth Rs. 4.89 crore and Rs. 3.62 crore, respectively. The couple has major investments in poultry shed in Devarayamjal in Jeedigutta, non-agricultural land in Banjara Hills, and family assets.

Ms. Jamuna, unlike her husband, has no criminal cases pending against her. She studied up to class XII and has identified herself as a businesswoman and agriculturalist. Her income according to the Income Tax papers for the financial year stands at Rs. 1.33 crore while that of Mr. Rajendra is Rs. 30 lakhs.

Cases

Eatala is facing corruption charges after Farmers from two villages in Medak district have levelled allegations of land grabbing, accusing him of forcibly taking over assigned lands.

Eight villagers from Achampet and Hakimpet under Masaipet mandal submitted a complaint to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao stating that the health minister and his followers had taken over their lands to start a poultry industry. They appealed to the Chief Minister to ensure that the lands assigned to them by the government be restored to them immediately.

Responding to their complaints, KCR had instructed chief secretary Somesh Kumar to inquiry and asked him to prepare a comprehensive report and submit the same. This was the beginning of Eatala's fallout from the TRS.

In response to the allegation, Rajender said that in 2016, after his son returned after completing his education, he had convinced him to start Jamuna Hatcheries between Achampalli and Hakimpet villages. The hatchery was set up on 40 acres land purchased for Rs. 6 lakh per acre. He had purchased another seven acres to expand the poultry farm and had obtained a loan from Canara Bank for the same.

"Poultry needs vast land. We wanted to expand further but there were only assigned lands nearby. I applied to the industries department asking for land," he said, adding the land was allotted in 1994 but never cultivated since it was not fit for farming."We requested the department to acquire the land and hand it over to me. I agreed to pay the land value. They advised me to do it personally and inform the government so that they will process it from their end," the minister added.He said that 25 acres of land had been surrendered to the MRO and it was in their possession.