NEW DELHI: It seems our State Assemblies are a hub of “declared criminals” and crorepatis.

According to a study carried out by Delhi-based think-tank Association for Democratic Reforms, as many as 34 per cent of ministers from State Assemblies have declared criminal cases against them, while 76 per cent are crorepatis with the average asset being Rs 8.59 crore.

“Of 609 State ministers analysed, 462 (76%) are crorepatis,” said the study. Among ministers with highest assets were Ponguru Narayana of Telugu Desam Party with total assets of Rs 496 crore, followed by D K Shivakumar of Congress from Karnataka with Rs 251 crore, said ADR. “Of 609 State ministers analysed, 210 (34%) ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves,” the study said. Moreover, 113 ministers have serious criminal cases, including cases related to murder, kidnapping, and crime against women. “Of 78 Union ministers analysed, 24 have declared criminal cases against themselves,” it added. The average assets per minister from State Assemblies was Rs. 8.59 crore, while those of the Union Council of ministers was Rs. 12.94 crore, said ADR.