Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 15 Jun: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Saturday distributed portfolios among his council of ministers, with his deputy Chowna Mein getting finance and Mama Natung home.
The council of ministers was sworn in on Thursday.
Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) Chowna Mein will look after finance, planning, and investment departments, besides tax & excise, state lotteries, economics & statistics, power, and non-conventional energy resources departments, an order issued by Chief Secretary Dharmendra said.
The important home portfolio has been allocated to Mama Natung, besides interstate border affairs, public health engineering & water supply, and indigenous affairs departments.
Khandu will look after all the departments not assigned to the DCM and other cabinet ministers.
State BJP president Biyuram Wahge has been allocated the health & family welfare and water resource departments.
Another fresh face in the cabinet, Nyato Dukam, got the commerce & industries, labour & employment, and information, public relations & printing departments.
Gabriel D Wangsu, also a new face, has got the charge of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry & veterinary, dairy development, fisheries, food & Civil supplies, and legal metrology and consumer affairs departments.
Minister in the outgoing Cabinet, Wangki Lowang, has been assigned the environment & forests, geology, mining & minerals, and the Tirap, Changlang and Longding departments.
Former speaker Pasang Dorjee Sona, who is also a fresh face in the Cabinet, has been given the responsibility of education, rural works, parliamentary affairs, tourism, and the libraries departments.
Balo Raja has been given the portfolios of urban affairs, land management, and civil aviation, while Kento Jini has been allocated the departments of law, legislative and justice, social justice, empowerment & tribal affairs and sports & youth affairs.
Ojing Tasing has been given the charge of rural development & panchayati raj, cooperation, and transport departments.
Dasanglu Pul, the lone woman minister, has been entrusted with the responsibilities of the women & child development, cultural affairs, and science & technology departments, the order stated.
Unverified sources informed The Arunachal Times that there were hectic parleys over allocation of departments. However, Khandu maintained that the portfolios were given to the ministers concerned based on their past experiences.
“I am hopeful that whatever department they have been assigned, they will work for the welfare of the people,” he said. (With PTI input)
