Mufti announces portfolios, holds on to key ministries

Major portfolios like home, finance and education were on Tuesday allocated to People’s Democratic Party ministers by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed who will himself hold the charge of home ministry. 

The allocation of portfolio in the PDP-BJP coalition was announced on Tuesday night two days after the 25-member ministry was sworn-in.

Deputy chief minister and BJP leader Nirmal Singh has been given power development and housing and urban development while the recently included member in Saffron party Lal Singh will be the health minister.

PDP's Haseeb A Drabu, who was the chief negotiator from the party, will be the new finance minister besides holding the portfolio of labour, employment and culture.

PDP's Chief spokesman Naeem Akhter has been given the charge of education whereas Javed Mustafa Mir will be the new revenue minister.

Separatist-turned politician Sajad Lone, who was accommodated in the ministry from the BJP quota, will look after science and technology and animal husbandry.

Veteran PDP leader Abdul Rehman Veeri will be the new horticulture and Haj and Auqaf minister, while Basharat Ahmed Bukhari, a former radio broadcaster, will look after

law, justice and parliamentary affairs and relief and rehabilitation.

BJP's Chander Prakash, Bali Bhagat and Sukhnandan Kumar will be in charge of industries and commerce; social welfare and forest and public health engineering respectively.

Businessman-turned politician Altaf Bukhari, a PDP MLA, will be in charge of public works, floriculture and parks while another MLA of the party and noted Shia leader Imran Ansari will look after information and technology and youth and sports.

Sayeed was sworn-in as chief minister on Sunday along with 24 others which included 13 members from PDP and 11 members of combined BJP, People's Conference and independent MLAs. 

All other departments not assigned to any of the ministers shall remain with the chief minister, a notification issued by Chief Secretary Iqbal Khandey said. 

PDP's Chowdhury Zulfikar Ali has been given consumer affairs and public distribution and tribal affairs while as party's two time MLA Abdul Haq Khan will look after rural development.

The giant killer Mohammad Ashraf Mir, who defeated former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah from Sonawar, has been assigned the charge of industries and commerce, power development and housing and urban development departments.

With PTI Inputs