CHANDIGARH (TIP): Two days after being sworn in, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on October 28 allocated departments to his nine Cabinet colleagues, while retaining key departments, including Home, Power and Town and Country Planning, for himself. Khattar returned from Delhi this afternoon with the “final approval” of the BJP high command over work distribution. Third in the chain of command, Captain Abhimanyu, a firsttimer, has emerged as a “big gainer” with the Finance, Revenue and Excise and Taxation departments among others.
Placed ahead of Abhimanyu in the Khattar Cabinet, Ram Bilas Sharma, an Education Minister in the Bansi Lal government in 1996, has been allocated the same portfolio yet again in addition to the Transport, Tourism and Food and Supplies. Despite being a chief ministerial aspirant and the state unit chief of the party, Sharma, eyeing Town and Country Planning, is likely to be disappointed with his “share of work” especially since Abhimanyu has clearly scored over him despite being a “junior minister”.
Rao Narbir, another minister of the Bansi Lal Cabinet, has been pleased with the PW (B and R) and Public Health Departments he will head, while farmer leader Om Prakash Dhankar will be the state’s new Agriculture and Irrigation Minister while also getting Development and Panchayat. This allocation is on expected lines. The BJP’s face in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha till the recent elections, Anil Vij has got the “ailing” Health Department and the Sports portfolio.
Having “waged war” against the Congress government in the House, Vij “deserved a better deal” since he is the only other five-time MLA after Sharma. Also, he seems twice unlucky since he has been placed fourth, after Abhimanyu and Dhankar, both first-timers. The only woman in the Khattar Cabinet, Kavita Jain, has been given Social Justice and Empowerment besides Women and Child Development Department.
Minister of State (independent charge) Vikram Singh Thekedar has been allocated Cooperation (Independent charge) and Development and Panchayats, for which he will be attached with the minister. MoS Krishan Kumar has been allocated Social Justice and Empowerment, Women and Child Development for which he will be attached to Kavita Jain, while Karan Dev Kamboj got Food and Supplies. They are all first-timers.
WHO’S GOT WHAT
Manohar Lal Khattar
Home, Power, Town & Country Planning and Urban Estates, Mines & Geology, General Administration, Science & Technology, Urban Local Bodies, Administration of Justice, Archives, Architecture, Electronics & Information Technology, Housing, Jails, Information, Public Relations & Cultural Affairs, Personnel & Training, Raj Bhawan Affairs, Renewable Energy & any department not specifically allotted to any minister
CABINET MINISTERS
Ram Bilas Sharma
Education & Languages, Transport, Technical Education, Food & Supplies, Tourism, Civil Aviation, Parliamentary Affairs, Archaeology & Museums, Hospitality
Capt Abhimanyu
Finance, Revenue & Disaster Management, Excise & Taxation, Planning, Forests, Environment, Industries & Commerce, Labour & Employment, Law & Legislative, Institutional Finance & Credit Control, Consolidation, Rehabilitation, Industrial Training
OP Dhankar
Agriculture, Development & Panchayats, Irrigation, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Fisheries
Anil Vij
Health & Medical Education, AYUSH, ESI, Election, Sports & Youth Affairs
Rao Narbir
Public Works (B&R), Public Health Engineering
Kavita Jain
Social Justice & Empowerment, Women & Child Development, Welfare of Scheduled Castes & Backward Classes
MoS
Vikram Singh Thekedar Cooperation (Independent Charge), Printing & Stationery (Independent Charge), Development & Panchayats
Krishan Kumar
Social Justice & Empowerment, Women & Child Development, Welfare of Scheduled Castes & Backward Classes
Karan Dev Kamboj
Food & Supplies, Transport, Tourism, Hospitality
Haryana Cabinet announced, CM keeps Home and Power
