Generous with detractors, but Swami keeps 44 depts with himself

DEHRA DUN, NOV 19: Uttaranchal Chief Minister Nityanand Swami, besides being magnanimous with his detractors in his ministry over the allo...

DEHRA DUN, NOV 19: Uttaranchal Chief Minister Nityanand Swami, besides being magnanimous with his detractors in his ministry over the allocation of portfolios, has given a strong signal of being in total control of the situation by keeping more than 44 departments with him including some important ones.

Swami, who faced rebellion from within the ruling party after the announcement of his name as the first Chief Minister of the newly-formed hill state by the party high command, was again in a dilemma over thedistribution of the portfolios to his ministerial colleagues. Three of the senior party leaders including Bhagat Singh Khoshiyari, president of the Uttaranchal unit of the party, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, a former Uttar Pradesh minister and Narian Ram Dass, another UP minister of state, had boycotted the first oath-taking ceremony on November 10 and only after intervention from the party high command did they take the oath of office andsecrecy the next day.

According to party sources, there was pressure on the Chief Minister from various ministers to allocate to them portfolios of their choice. Swamy took more than a week to decide the issue, but only after taking approval from the central party leadership.

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Bhagat Singh Khoshiyari has been given the portfolios of Energy, Irrigation and Parliamentary Affairs while Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has been made the Finance Minister. In the much-awaited announcement of portfolios made on Saturday evening, Narain Ram Dass, another disgruntled minister who was annoyed for not being elevated as cabinet minister, is the only Minister of State with Independent charge of Horticulture, Small Industries and Social Welfare Departments. Kedar Singh Phonia has been given Tourism, IndustrialDevelopment, Science and Technology and Labour while Matbar Singh Kandari has been allocated the portfolio of Forests and Environment. Mohan Singh Rawat Goanwasi has been made Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj institutions and Ajay Bhatt has been given Health and the new Department of Disaster Management.

Banshi Dhar Bhagat, another former Uttar Pradesh minister, has been allocated the portfolio of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Cooperatives, Sugarcane Development and Sugar Industry. Except Narian Ram Dass, who has been given independent charge, all the other four Ministers of State, including Naraian Singh Rana, Tirath Singh Rawat, Suresh Arya and the lone woman minister Nirupma Gaur, have been given departments attached to the Chief Minister.

A number of important departments, including General Administration, Home, PWD, Higher Education, Food and Supplies, Transport, Justice, Civil Aviation, Urban Development and Women’s Empowerment will be lookedafter by the Chief Minister himself.

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