DEHRADUN: Nearly a week after being sworn in, ministers in the Uttarakhand government have been allotted the charge of various departments. An announcement about assigning the portfolios was made on Tuesday night.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has kept the charge of over two dozen departments to himself. These include home, industrial development (mining), justice, labour, excise, environment conservation and climate change, disaster management and rehabilitation and civil aviation.
Satpal Maharaj has been given 10 portfolios, including the public works department, Panchayati raj, rural construction, culture, tourism, water resources management, irrigation and minor irrigation. Finance, urban development, legislative and parliamentary affairs, re-organisation and census have gone to Prem Chand Aggarwal.
Chandan Ram Das, a first-time minister, has got the charge of social welfare, minority welfare, road transport and micro, small and medium enterprises department. Another new face in Dhami's cabinet is Saurabh Bahuguna.
He has been made minister of animal husbandry, milk development and fisheries, sugarcane development and sugar industry, protocol, skill development and employment. Ganesh Joshi has been made minister of agriculture and farmers' welfare, Sainik Kalyan and rural development.
Dhan Singh Rawat is in charge of school education -- basic and secondary -- Sanskrit education, co-operative, higher education, medical health and medical education. Subodh Uniyal has been made minister of forest, language, election and technological education.
Rekha Arya has been given women empowerment and child development, food and civil supplies, consumer affairs, sports and youth welfare departments. Dhami's cabinet was sworn in on March 23.