CG-MINISTERS-PORTFOLIOS

Baghel assigns portfolios; keeps finance, gives home to Sahu
    Raipur, Dec 27 (PTI) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister
Bhupesh Baghel 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 BJP 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. PTI TKP
RSY RSY