Dehradun, March 22 Two days after inducting five new members into his cabinet, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami allocated portfolios on Sunday and reshuffled the responsibilities of some incumbent ministers.
The chief minister has retained several key departments under his control, including Home, Finance, Information, Revenue, Industrial Development, Mining, Energy, Excise, Civil Aviation, and State Property.
According to a notification issued by the state government, Subodh Uniyal, the Minister for Forests and Parliamentary Affairs, has been given the additional charge of Health and Medical Education.
Meanwhile, the Technical Education Department has been taken from him and entrusted to Dhan Singh Rawat, who had previously been handling the Health Department.
Rawat will continue to hold the portfolios of School Education, Sanskrit Education, and Cooperation without any changes, the notification said.
The Panchayati Raj and Watershed Management departments have been withdrawn from Satpal Maharaj. Madan Kaushik, who was recently inducted into the cabinet, has been assigned the responsibility of Panchayati Raj.
Additionally, he has been given charge of Disaster Management and Rehabilitation, AYUSH and AYUSH Education, and Census.
The Rural Development Department has been taken from Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi and entrusted to the new minister, Bharat Singh Chaudhary.
Chaudhary has also been assigned the responsibility of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department.
The new minister, Khajan Das, has been entrusted with the Social Welfare, Minority Welfare, and Student Welfare departments.
Pradeep Batra has been allocated the departments of Transport, Information Technology, Science and Technology, and Biotechnology, while Ram Singh Kaida has been given charge of Urban Development, Environment Protection and Climate Change, and Watershed Management.
No changes have been made to the portfolios of Rekha Arya, the Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Development, or the Minister for Animal Husbandry and Sugarcane Development.
It is noteworthy that Dhami expanded his cabinet on Friday, inducting Khajan Das, Madan Kaushik, Ram Singh Kaida, Pradeep Batra, and Bharat Singh Chaudhary.
Following the allocation of portfolios, Dhami said that the past four years of the state government have been dedicated to service, good governance, and public welfare.
Dhami remarked, "All members of the cabinet are experienced and deeply committed to public service. Prioritising public service above all else, the government will contribute with complete dedication to making Uttarakhand a leading and exemplary state within a developed India."