WEB DESK /
Soon after being divested from the important water conservation portfolio in the Cabinet reshuffle, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was seen as placating a seemingly upset Pankaja Munde, asking her to attend an international water summit.
Ms Munde, who is also Maharashtra’s minister for Rural Development and Women and Child Development, lost the Water Conservation portfolio during the reshuffle in the ministry.
Portfolios of newly inducted ministers in Maharashtra government have been declared last night.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis handed over the list of portfolios to Governor C H Vidyasagar Rao before leaving for Russia tour. Mr Fadnavis conducted a reshuffle, making course corrections and restructuring portfolios for “effective administrative management”.
Senior minister Chandrakant Patil was given the important Ministry of Revenue, held by former minister Eknath Khadse, who had to resign following corruption charges. Patil retains the Public Works Department.
However, the Ministry of Cooperation and Marketing has been taken away from Patil and awarded to newly inducted BJP minister Subash Deshmukh.
The Ministry of Agriculture, which was also held by Khadse, had been awarded to Pandurang Phundkar.
However, two influential ministers – education minister Vinod Tawde and rural development minister Pankaja Munde – suffered a setback as Fadnavis took away the medical education department and the water conservation department from them.
Water Conservation portfolio has been awarded to Ram Shinde.
The low-profile Girish Mahajan has been rewarded with the additional portfolio of Medical Education, which was divested from Tawde. Mahajan will continue with his original Water Resources Ministry.
The Shiv Sena’s junior ministers got two significant departments. Sena’s Deepak Kesarkar will be minister of state for home (rural), while newly inducted Gulabrao Patil will be minister of state for cooperation.
Among the other newly inducted ministers, Jaykumar Rawal was given tourism and employment guarantee scheme portfolios and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha’s Mahadev Jankar has been allotted animal husbandary and dairy development departments, which was held by Khadse. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana’s Sadashiv Khot will be MoS agricultural and marketing.