In his second term as Goa chief minister, Pramod Sawant on Sunday allocated portfolios to his cabinet colleagues, while keeping important home and finance portfolios with him.
The notification for allocation of portfolios to eight BJP MLAs, who took oath on March 28 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was issued on Sunday.
Sawant will hold the charge of Home, Finance, Personnel, Vigilance and Official Language departments in the state.
Vishwajit Rane, who unsuccessfully lobbied for the chief minister’s post, has been given the important health and town and village planning portfolios, along with the urban development, women and child and forest departments.
Mauvin Godinho has been allotted transport, industry, panchayat and protocol departments.
Ravi Naik has been given the Department of Agriculture, Handicrafts and Civil Supplies.
Nilesh Cabral has been allotted the important Public Works Department along with the Legislative Affairs, Environment and Law and Judiciary portfolios.
Subhash Shirodkar has been allotted Water Resources Department, Cooperation and Provedoria Departments, while Rohan Khunte has been given Tourism, Information and Technology and Printing and Stationery portfolios.
Govind Goude will be the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture and the RDA and Atanasio Monserrate have been allotted the Revenue, Labor and Waste Management portfolios.
Panaji MLA Atanasio Monserrate, who defeated former chief minister late Manohar Parrikar’s son Utpal from the Panaji seat, has been allotted revenue, labor and waste management portfolios.
Rane, Godinho, Cabral and Gowde were part of the Sawant-led cabinet from 2019-22, while Khunte was a minister in the Parrikar-led government and was dropped from the cabinet in 2019.
The Chief Minister can induct three more ministers in the state cabinet.
Goa BJP chief Sadanand Shet Tanawade had last week said that a decision on the three cabinet seats lying vacant would be taken “within a month or two”.
The BJP emerged as the single largest party in Goa, winning 20 seats in the 40-member state assembly and reducing the Congress to 11 seats.
Three independent MLAs and two MLAs of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) have extended their support to the BJP.
with agency input
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