Agartala, March 10: Tripura Chief minister Manik Saha allocated the portfolios among his cabinet colleagues keeping over 30 departments including home, health, PWD, Information and Cultural Affairs, Education, Forest departments with him on Friday.
Saha took oath as chief minister of Tripura recently. He became the chief minister of the state for second time.
Manik Saha along with eight other cabinet ministers including a woman took oath days after the BJP-IPFT alliance retained power in Tripura for the second straight term by winning 32 seats in the 60-member state assembly, for which elections were held on February 16.
According to the notification on portfolio allocation, by Chief Secretary J.K. Sinha, the Power and Agriculture departments have been entrusted to Ratan Lal Nath, who held the Education and Law portfolios in the previous government.
The important Finance, Planning, Coordination along with Information Technology departments have been allocated to former Agriculture, Transport, and Tourism minister, Pranajit Singha Roy while Food, Civil Supplies, Transport, and Tourism departments were allocated to former Information and Cultural Affairs and Sports Minister Sushanta Chowdhury.
The Industries and Commerce, Welfare of Other Backward Community have been entrusted to the lone woman minister Santana Chakma.
Youth Affairs, Sports and Labour departments were allocated to new minister Tinku Roy, Tribal Welfare to Bikash Debbarma, Scheduled Caste Welfare and Animal Resource development to Sudhanshu Das.
Shukla Charan Noatia, who is the lone minister of BJP’s ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura in the alliance government, has been allocated Cooperation and Minorities Welfare.
Three ministerial berths presently remain vacant, as the BJP has been approaching tribal based Tipra Motha Party (TMP) to participate in the BJP-led government.
Four ministers of the first BJP led government – Ram Prasad Paul, Bhagaban Das, Manoj Kanti Deb and Rampada Jamatia – did not find place in the second saffron party led government.
