Chief Minister all set to usher in change

A change in ministerial portfolios,or perhaps even a Cabinet reshuffle,is on the cards in the state.

Chief Minister all set to usher in change

A change in ministerial portfolios,or perhaps even a Cabinet reshuffle,is on the cards in the state. A report card of ministers is being prepared ahead of the Assembly elections in early 2012. On the face of it,the performance scale will determine the likely changes. Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhiriyal Nishank met BJP central leaders in New Delhi this week. The CM,who holds several portfolios,could also do away with a few for better focus on priority portfolios. One Cabinet berth is still vacant and that could see a new face. Some who are minister of state are likely to be elevated. This will be the first time Pokhriyal will give shape to a portfolio change or a Cabinet reshuffle ever since he became the Chief Minister. The attempt,BJP sources said,is to accelerate various ongoing projects before it is too close to the polls.

Its Cong versus UPA in state

Now that NTPCs 600 MW hydro-power project on Ganga has been scrapped by the Centre,the UPA-led government finds itself pitted against the state Congress. The state Congress has openly criticised the Centres move to cancel the project on the premise that the decision retards development and hits at employment avenues. While the BJP is taking credit for the decision,several Congress leaders and MPs have asked the Centre to review its decision. The hydro-project was scrapped midway,after Rs 600 crore had been pumped into the it,owing to opposition from environmentalists,religious leaders and Yoga guru Ramdev. The issue,which is generating political overtones,is likely to be raked up on the floor of the state Assembly during the three-day monsoon session,beginning on September 22.

IMA scales 50,000 mark

The passing out parade at the Indian Military Academy IMA in Dehradun,the state Capital,this year will be a special one for the academy. The parade will witness the number 50,000 cadet take part in the event that day. Deputy Commandant IMA Maj Gen G S Bal said it will be a glorious moment given the fact that the academy has trained 50,000 cadets into officers ever since it was set up. The achievement is more symbolic and the academy does not intend to name the cadet out of all others,albeit celebrate the high point.

Battle for top post begins

The race for the coveted post of Chief Secretary,which will fall vacant shortly,is getting embroiled in controversies. One of the seniormost bureaucrats in the state,Ajay Kumar Joshi,has threatened to take the government head-on in case hes not appointed the next Chief Secretary,being the seniormost after the incumbent Chief Secretary. The bureaucrat says that hes been targeted in a systematic manner to scuttle his claim on the post. Joshi has even shot off an official letter to the incumbent Chief Secretary N S Napalchyal,whos on a six-month extension since April 30 this year post his retirement,threatening legal resource. Two other senior bureaucrats of the 1977 batch,S K Muttoo and Subhash Kumar,are also in the fray.