Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai allocates portfolios, keeps GAD, mineral resources; Vijay Sharma gets home
Mineral Resources, Excise and General Administration Department with himself while giving home to deputy CM Vijay Sharma and finance ministry to IAS-officer-turned MLA O P Choudhary.
The strength of the state cabinet is 12. Sai will also handle Energy, Public Relations, Commercial Tax (Excise) and Transport departments and all other departments not specifically assigned to any minister, said the gazette notification issued by the General Administration Department.
Vijay Sharma was given key departments of Home and Jail, Panchayat and Rural Development, Technical Education and Employment and Science and Technology.
Another Deputy CM Arun Sao would handle Public Works, Public Health Engineering, Law and Legislative Affairs and Urban Administration departments.
O P Choudhary was assigned, besides Finance, Commercial Tax, Housing and Environment and Planning, Economics and Statistics departments.
Senior party MLA and minister Brijmohan Agrawal was allocated School Education, Higher Education, Tourism and Culture, Parliamentary Affairs and Dharmik Nyas (religious trust) and Dharmsva departments.
Ram Vichar Netam will be the minister for Agriculture Development and Farmer Welfare, Scheduled Tribes Development, Scheduled Castes Development, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Minorities Development departments.
The lone minister from the Scheduled Castes community in the cabinet, Dayaldas Baghel, was assigned Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection.
The 69-year-old Baghel is the oldest member in the Sai's cabinet. The youngest and only woman minister in the cabinet, Laxmi Rajwade (31) has been given the charge of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare departments.
Kedar Kashyap got Forest and Climate Change,
