Harish Rawat allocates portfolios, no major changes made

DEHRADUN: Over a month after taking over as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat has finally allocated portfolios to his Cabinet colleagues without making any major changes in their departments.

A notification allocating portfolios to the 12-member Cabinet headed by Rawat was issued late last night which stated the CM will hold the charge of departments not allocated to any minister.

While the chief minister himself holds the charge of key portfolios like disaster management and rehabilitation, power, public works, border area development and information technology, finance and parliamentary affairs have been allocated to the senior-most member of his cabinet Indira Hridayesh, who held the charge of these portfolios in the Vijay Bahuguna cabinet as well.

Yashpal Arya, who was Disaster Management Minister in Bahuguna cabinet, has got Revenue and Irrigation while Harak Singh Rawat retains the charge of Agriculture and Army Welfare.

Pritam Singh retains the charge of Food and Civil Supplies in addition to Home. SS Negi retains the charge of Health.

Amrita Rawat has got back the charge of Tourism and Culture while Pritam Panwar has got the charge of Urban Development.

Dinesh Agrawal has been made the sports and forest minister, Mantri Prasad Naithani school education and drinking water minister, Harish Durgapal labour minister and Surendra Rakesh Social Welfare and Transport Minister.

The delay in allocation of portfolios to ministers had earned the chief minister the flak of opposition BJP which argued that non-allocation of portfolios among ministers had brought development to a halt in the state.

Rawat was sworn in as the chief minister on February 1 this year replacing Bahuguna.