In a first for Assam, lone woman in new cabinet gets finance

GUWAHATI: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday allocated the finance portfolio to the lone woman member of his cabinet Ajanta Neog, making her the first female finance minister of the state. In the last NDA government, Sarma had held this portfolio.
Sarma kept the departments of home, personnel and public works and any other departments not allotted to any minister with him.Neog will hold the additional responsibility of the social welfare department. Ally AGP’s Keshab Mahanta was given the crucial health department amid the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic after Sarma himself had successfully carried out the responsibilities of this department last year. Mahanta will also be in charge of science and technology and information technology departments.
Another important department of education, which Sarma was in-charge of in the previous government, has been given to Dr Ranoj Pegu. AGP president Atul Bora has retained the departments of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and veterinary and border area development portfolios from last government while BJP’s Chandra Mohan Patowary gets the same departments — transport, industries and commerce, skill development , which he had with in the previous government. He will also hold additional charge of welfare of minorities department.
Representative from the Barak Valley, Parimal Shuklabaidya, has been given environment & forests, fisheries and excise departments. He was in-charge of these departments in the last government too.
Ally UPPL’s Urkhao Gwra Brahma has been allotted handloom and textile, soil conservation and welfare of plain tribes and backward classes (those in Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) areas. Another new BJP face, Ashok Singhal, has been given charge of Guwahati development department, urban development and irrigation departments while Jogen Mohan in his second stint as a minister has been allotted revenue and disaster management, hills area development and mines and minerals portfolios. Tea community leader Sanjay Kishan, who is making his second appearance as a minister since the last government, is in-charge of welfare of tea-tribes and labour and employment departments. Bimal Bora, another newcomer, has been given sports and youth welfare, cultural affairs, power and tourism departments.
Former health MoS in the previous government and a close associate of the chief minister, Pijush Hazarika, has been given water resources, information and public relations and parliamentary affairs departments.