Munda allocates portfolio, retains energy and road with him

Alliance partners swap role in government


VIJAY DEO JHA

RANCHI

Chief Minister Arjun Munda allocated portfolios among his ministers while keeping two key departments Energy and Road despite last moment pressure and whining of alliance partners JMM and AJSU to hand over the two plum portfolios under agreed portfolio swapping formula.

Top sources confided that Munda could not lay his hand over Mining Department as the JMM refused to concede further. The department was allocated to JMM minister and Deputy Chief Minister Hemant Soren along with Finance, Commercial Tax, Urban Development and Housing, Drinking Water and Sanitation and Civil Aviation.

A list to this effect Munda sent to the Governor MOH Farook on late Saturday night for assent after marathon meeting with Hemant and Sudesh Kumar Mahto of the AJSU. It was notified on Sunday.

Munda retained Personnel Department, Administrative Reform, Cabinet Secretariat and Coordination, Home, Vigilance, Planning and Development and all those departments which have not been allocated to anybody.

Under formula agreed by the coalition partners reported by The Pioneer on September 9, the BJP and the JMM had agreed to swap its respective portfolio retained during the previous JMM-BJP-AJSU-JD (U) government led by Shibu Soren.

‘Road Construction Department’ came as a considerable loss for the AJSU as Deputy CM Sudesh was quite keen to continue with this department. But he retained Rural Development along with NREP Youth Sports and Cultural Affairs, NREP, Panchyati Raj Institution, Forest and Environment. Sudesh was awarded Water Resource portfolio which was retained by the minister of his party Chandra Prakash Chaudhary.

While Chaudhary got Science and Technology, Building construction, Labour employment—a key department he held in the previous government ‘Drinking Water and Sanitation went to the JMM.

There was a mutual swap of the HRD and the Health Department and Family Welfare — the JMM and the BJP agreed for. HRD went to BJP’s Baidyanath Ram where as Health Department will be now headed JMM Minister Hemlal Murmu who was handed over another two departments — Family Welfare and Parliamentary Affairs.

Cabinet’s only minority face Hazi Hussain Ansari of the JMM remained more or less in the same role as minister of ‘Minority Welfare Development with minor addition of Cooperative Department.

Mathura Mahato of the JMM will look after Food, Public Distribution System and Consumer Affairs and Revenue and Land Reform. The first two departments were retained by the BJP in the past ministry. Champai Soren of the JMM who became the minister after the BJP conceded one berth for the JMM is set to stir Transport Department as well as Tribal. The JD (U) which got one berth in the ministry, its minister Raja Peter has been given the assignment of Excise and Prohibition, Disaster Management Department. Earlier these two departments remained with Soren himself when he was the CM of the coalition government. BJP’s Bimla Pradhan, the lone woman in the ministry has been allocated ‘Social Welfare’, ‘Woman and Child Development’ and Tourism.

BJP’s Satyanand Jha Batul is a baffling case of gloom after high hope. He had strongly lobbied for HRD and landed in the barn of Animal Husbandry. This ‘strictly vegetarian’ minister has to look after the Department of Fisheries. Nevertheless, another two significant departments Agriculture and Sugarcane are with him.