By IANS
Bhopal : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has distributed portfolios to the new ministers, reshuffled those of some of the other cabinet colleagues and also cleared several political appointments.
Chouhan had Saturday expanded his cabinet inducting six ministers and promoting two to the cabinet rank. Portfolios were allocated late Sunday, an official statement said Monday.
While newly inducted cabinet minister Gaurishankar Shejwar has been given departments of energy, medical education, bio-diversity and biotechnology, Akhand Pratap Singh will look after public distribution, consumer protection and backward classes and minorities welfare.
Karan Singh has been given charge of village industries, Minister of State with independent charge Tukojirao Puar has been entrusted with tourism, sports and youth welfare, Moti Kashyap is to look after the fisheries department and Laxman Singh Gaud has been given school education and higher education.
Among newly inducted ministers of state, Ranjana Baghel has got tribal welfare, general administration and aviation and Harendrajeet Singh ‘Babboo’ has been given commercial tax, cooperatives, farmer welfare and agriculture development.
Among the other ministers, Himmat Kothari is entrusted with home and transport, Babulal Gaur commercial tax and public enterprises, Raghavji finance, planning and 20-point programme, Jayant Malaiyya commerce and Industries along with employment, housing and environment, Kailash Vijayvergiya PWD, information technology and science and technology, Vijay Shah forest and tribal welfare and Jagdish Devda labour and scheduled caste welfare.
Laxmikant Sharma has been given culture, public relations and mines, Nagendra Singh Narmada valley development and technical education, Narottam Mishra legislative affairs, urban administration and development, Gopal Bhargav cooperatives, farmers’ welfare and agriculture and Anup Mishra water resources and public grievances redressal.
The much awaited political appointments made by the chief minister include Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Kapoorchand Ghuwara as chairman of the State Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation with the rank of a cabinet minister, Amita Chapra as chairperson of the State Women’s Commission and Krishnakanta Tomar, Anju Makhija, Rajo Malviya, Sarita Deshpande and Sushma Arya as its nominated members.
The government also reconstituted the State Social Welfare Board with Usha Chaturvedi being retained as chairperson. Kamla Vadiwa, Shakuntala Bapat, Anjana Saraf, Asha Gupta, Champa Jain, Kavita Rai, Bharti Gupta, Sumitra Chowdhury, Vimlesh Mishra, Manorama Gaur, Jyoti Aevtikar, Hemwati Yadav, Madhu Jha, Bilkis Jehan and Suman Thakur have been nominated as its members.