Portfolios allocated to ministers in Rajasthan; Gehlot keeps 9, Pilot 5

Newly inducted Rajasthan ministers have been allocated portfolios, with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot assigning nine departments, including the key finance and home, to himself.

According to the orders issued by the Cabinet Secretariat here, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot has been given the charge of public works, rural development, panchayati raj, science and technology and statistics departments.

Apart from the chief minister and his deputy, 13 cabinet and 10 ministers of state were allocated portfolios by Governor Kalyan Singh late on Wednesday night on the advice of Gehlot.

The 23 ministers were sworn in on Monday, a week after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot took oath.

The allocation of portfolios were made after Gehlot and Pilot held meetings with Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The decision had been pending due to reported disagreement between Gehlot and Pilot over allocation of key portfolios such as home and finance.

Besides finance and home, the chief minister also kept the charge of excise, planning, personnel, general administration and information technology department, among others.

B D Kalla has been given energy, public health engineering, ground water, art, culture and archeology departments, while Shanti Dhariwal was assigned urban development and housing, law and parliamentary affairs departments.

Parsadi Lal was named industry minister, and Master Bhanwar Lal Meghwal is in charge of social justice and empowerment department.

Agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries departments are with Lal Chand Kataria while medical and health, information and public relations departments are with Raghu Sharma. Pramod Bhaya is the mines minister.

Vishvendra Singh got tourism and devsthan department, Harish Chaudhary was allocated revenue, while Ramesh Chand Meena was given food and civil supply department.

Besides being made the cooperative minister, Anjana Udailal was also given the Indira Gandhi canal project department. Pratap Singh was given the charge of transport and soldier welfare departments while Shale Mohammad was made minority affairs and Waqf minister.

The portfolios, which are yet to be allocated will remain with the chief minister for now.

Among the ministers of state, Govind Singh Dotasara was given education (independent charge), and was also given tourism and devsthan departments. Mamta Bhupesh was given women and child development department (independent charge) along with minority affairs and Waqf.

Arjun Singh Bamnia was given tribal area development department (independent charge) as well as industry and pubic enterprises departments.

Bhanwar Singh Bhati was allocated higher education (independent charge) and revenue while Sukhram Bishnoi got forest (independent charge), environment (independent charge), food and civil supply and consumer affairs.

Youth affairs and sports (independent charge), skill development (independent charge) and transport and soldier welfare went to Ashok Chandna, while Tikaram Jully got labour (independent charge), industries and boilers inspection (independent charge), cooperatives and Indira Gandhi canal project department.

Bhajan Lal Jatav has civil defence (independent charge), agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries, Rajendra Singh Yadav was allocated state motor garage (independent charge), language department, social justice and empowerment, calamity management and relief departments.

Rashtriya Lok Ddal's Subhash Garg was allocated technical education (independent charge), Sanskrit education (independent charge), medical and health, information and public relations departments. 

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Chhattisgarh: Baghel assigns portfolios; keeps finance, gives home to Sahu

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday assigned portfolios to his Cabinet colleagues, keeping finance and mining with himself and giving the crucial home department to senior leader Tamradhwaj Sahu.

The newly-appointed ministers, who took oath early this week, have been allocated portfolios, a government public relation officer here said.

Besides finance and mining, Baghel, heading the first Congress government in Chhattisgarh in 15 years, will handle general administration department, energy, public relations, electronics and information technology portfolios along with the departments not allocated to any other minister, he said.

Minister T S Singh Deo has been given key departments like panchayat and rural development, health & family welfare, medical education, planning, economics and statistics, 20-point programme and commercial taxes (GST).

Similarly, Sahu will head important departments like home, public works department (PWD), jail, tourism, dharmsva (religious) and culture.

The 69-year-old Sahu is the oldest minister in the cabinet.

The lone minister from the Muslim community, Mohammad Akbar, has been has been allotted transport, forest, housing, environment, food & civil supplies and consumer protection departments.

The youngest minister in the Cabinet, Umesh Patel, 34, has been given the charge of higher education, technical education, skill development and janshakti niyojan, science and technology, sports and youth welfare departments.

Minister Jaisingh Agrawal got revenue and disaster management, rehabilitation, registrar and stamp departments while the only woman minister, Anita Bhediya, will head women and child development and social Welfare departments.

Parliamentary work, law and legal affairs, agriculture and bio-technology, animal husbandry, fisheries and water resources departments were handed over to minister Ravindra Choubey.

Senior tribal tribal leader and minister Kawasi Lakhma will look after commercial tax (excise) and industries.

Shiv Kumar Dahariya was given labour, urban administration and development departments, while Rudra Kumar Guru has been assigned public health and engineering along with village industries departments.

Senior leader and minister Premsai Singh Tekam will look after school education, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, other backward class and minorities welfare along with cooperative department.

The Congress returned to power in the state after 15 years, dislodging the Raman Singh-led BJP government in the November polls.

The Congress bagged 68 of the 90 seats in the assembly, while the Bharatiya Janata Party won only 15 seats.

Deo and Sahu were sworn in as ministers along with Baghel on December 17.

Last Tuesday, Baghel had expanded his Cabinet by inducting nine more ministers, who had taken oath at a function in Raipur.

The total strength of the Cabinet now stood at 12, including the chief minister.