Finally, ministers get PORTFOLIOS

 

 Staff Reporter

 

The much-awaited allocation of portfolios was announced on Saturday wherein Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis kept Home and also has Energy (excluding Renewable Energy), the two key portfolios. The two Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar respectively have got Urban Development and Finance and Planning respectively as anticipated. However, in the distribution scheme, the two Dy CMs also got additional departments of Public Enterprise, Housing and State Excise respectively. This is in addition to important portfolios allotted to them. In effect, the heads of three-party MahaYuti Government between themselves have kept important portfolios. As per the notification issued by Governor C P Radhakrishnan, at no. 4 is Chandrashekhar Bawankule, President, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Maharashtra State, who got Revenue Department.

 

A cursory look at the portfolios indicates that some of the Ministers have managed to retain their old department, the one they held in previous Government. For example, Hasan Mushrif has been reallocated Medical Education, while Chandrakant Patil continues with Higher and Technical Education plus Parliamentary Affairs. Similarly, Gulabrao Patil continues with Water Supply and Sanitation as is Uday Samant who has been again entrusted Industries plus he is also going to look after Marathi Language Department. Another repeat is for Atul Save who will continue to look after OBC Welfare, but in addition he gets Dairy Development and Renewable Energy. The distribution of various departments in cabinet showcases that Maha Yuti constituents have bifurcated the Water Resources Department wherein two Ministers have been entrusted task of various corporations separately. Radhakrishnan Vikhe-Patil has been tasked with supervising Godavari and Krishna Valley Development Corporation while party colleague Girish Mahajan

 

will oversee Vidarbha, Tapi, Krishna Valley Development Corporations plus Disaster Management. Ganesh Naik who entered cabinet after a long hiatus has got important Forest Department while Pankaja Munde gets another crucial portfolio of Environment and Climate Change plus Animal Husbandry. Dada Bhuse is allocated School Education, Dhananjay Munde will be looking after Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, while Sanjay Rathod is allocated Soil and Water Conservation. Another important Minister Mangalprabhat Lodha gets Skill Development, Employment, Enterpreneurship and Innovation; Jaykumar Rawal is given Marketing and Protocol; Shambhuraj Desai is entrusted with Tourism, Mining, Ex-Servicemen Welfare; Ashok Uike is new Tribal Development Minister; Shivrendrasingh Bhosale gets Public Minister (excl. Public Enterprises); Manikrao Kokate (Agriculture), while Jaykumar Gore gets Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Dattatray Bharane will look after Sports and Youth Welfare, Minorities Development and

 

Aukaf. The other Ministers Sanjay Savkare gets Textile; Sanjay Shirsat is Social Justice Department; Pratap Sarnaik is allocated Transport; Bharatseth Gogawale is given Employment Guarantee, Horticulture, Salt Pan Land Development; Narhari Zirwal gets Food and Drug Administration and Special Assistance; Makrand Jadhav is given Relief and Rehabilitation while Nitesh Rane is going to look after Fisheries and Ports. In additional, Akash Fundkar, first time Minister, is entrusted Labour Department while Babasaheb Patil is made in-charge of Co-operation Department while Prakash Abitkar is going to look after all important Public Health and Family Welfare. Ashish Shelar, President, BJP, Mumbai Region, is entrusted responsibility of Information Technology and Cultural Affairs while Aditi Tatkare retained Women and Child Development. The Ministers of State, Adv Ashish Jaiswal is entrusted Departments of Finance and Planning, Agriculture, Relief and Rehabilitation, Law and Judiciary and Labour; Madhuri Misal gets Urban Development, Transport, Social Justice, Medical Education, Minorities Development and Aukaf; Dr Pankaj Bhoyar is allocated Home (Rural), Housing, School Education, Co-operation and Mining; Meghna Bordikar is entrusted with Public Health and Family Welfare, Water Supply and Sanitation, Energy, Women and Child Development, Public Works (Public Enterprise); Indranil Naik will look after Industries, Public Works, Higher and Technical Education, Tribal Development, Tourism, Soil and Water Conservation while Yogesh Kadam gets Home (Urban), Revenue, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Food and Drug Administration. The Chief Minister has also kept with himself departments of General Administration, Information and Publicity as per tradition plus Law and Judiciary.