HYDERABAD: What could be the value of a plush bungalow constructed on 420 sq m of land in upmarket Prashasan Nagar in Jubilee Hills? Easily a few crores.But many IPS officers don’t seem to know the value of their own property. And those who do, have come up with surprising values.One officer put the value as low as Rs. 5 lakh, another at Rs.20 lakh, and yet another at Rs.35 lakh. On the other hand, one officer said his property was worth Rs.1 crore and another said his house was worth Rs.3.5 crore. There are a few who tried to project that they are just unaware of what the value of their own house or property could be.There are several surprises in the immovable property returns (IPR) filed by IPS officers in AP. In many cases, the men in khaki chose to dodge the queries. The format clearly asks the officers to state the present value of their property and in whose name it is held. Another query is how the properties were acquired -- whether purchased, leased, inherited or received as a gift.A senior IPS officer working in a key post chose to leave this space blank, another mentioned the value as Rs.5 lakh. ‘’Not known’’ was the most frequent response to this query. One IPS officer involved in anti-naxalite operations who sold his Prashasan Nagar house late last year, had no choice but to mention the amount for which he sold it. It was Rs. 3.5 crore. Another interesting fact is that though all-India service officers are supposed to submit immovable property returns by Jan. 31, many chose not to do it. A woman IPS officer had not submitted her annual property returns since 2003 while some others fell away from the practice in 2007. Though the Ministry of Home Affairs wanted IPS officers to mention the properties they have owned from the time they joined services till date, some merely mentioned that there was ‘’no change or no addition’’ indicating they did not purchase any property in that particular year. For example, one senior officer submitted a one-line reply: ‘’No acquisitions or disposals during the year under report’’, ie, for the year 2010. His colleague responded with a ‘nil’ to all queries though it is a known fact that he or his family members own properties. ‘’Many of us purchased plots in Prashasan Nagar several years ago when it was a jungle. Now if the value has increased what is wrong in declaring it?’’ wondered a police officer.
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