The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has leased a luxury apartment in south Mumbai for its chairman, Tuhin Kanta Pandey at a monthly rent of Rs 7 lakh, according to real estate data analytics site zapkay.com. The 5-bedroom apartment with a carpet area of 3,000 sq ft is in a premium residential complex of Prabhadevi. It is overlooking the Arabian Sea and is on three-year lease that was signed on September 3.
Chairman’s Apartment Rent vs. Salary
At the time of his appointment, Tuhin had the option to either opt for a consolidated salary of Rs 5.62 lakh per month, excluding house and car or to choose the government pay scale. If SEBI is paying for his accommodation, that suggests the SEBI chairman opted to receive a salary equivalent to that of a Secretary in the Government of India. According to government records, the maximum salary of secretary-level officers is no more than Rs 2.25 lakhs.
According to the terms and conditions of service of the Chairman and Members of SEBI, he/she is entitled to a rent-free, unfurnished house and if they choose to use private accommodation, they are eligible for House Rent Allowance and 10% of their basic pay as compensation.
SEBI’s Board-Approved Accommodation Policy
According to The Economics Times, SEBI said that it comes under its accommodation policy, “SEBI has a Board approved policy for providing leased accommodation to its Chairman, Whole Time Members, Executive Directors and all other officers of SEBI. The lease amount varies according to the rank / designation of the officers of the Board,” the regulator told ET.
The regulator added that the current leased accommodation for the chairman is “in accordance with the said board approved policy and the size of the premise and the lease amount in this instance is within the approved limit.” The lease amount was also determined based on a valuation report from a leading property valuer.
All About luxury Prabhadevi apartments
The rent will see a 5% annual escalation, according to documents accessed through realty data analytics platform Zapkey.com. The leased unit is on the 51st floor of Rustomjee Crown, a development spread across 5.75 acres. It comes with four car parks and a security deposit of Rs 42 lakh.
However, it is important to note that Rs 32,671– Rs 35,730 per sq ft is the average price range for Central Mumbai (Lower Parel, Prabhadevi, Worli), according to Knight Frank’s H1FY25 (January–June) report.