Uddhav Thackeray allocates portfolios to his ministers

The much-awaited distribution of ministries in Maharashtra was carried out by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray with Nationalist Congress Party getting the plum portfolios of Finance and Home, here on Sunday.

In what was described as "an equitable allocation" of responsibilities, Chief Minister Thackeray will handle General Administration, IT, Information & Public Relations, Law & Judiciary and other departments not given to any other minister.

NCP's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is the new Finance Minister, his party colleague Anil V. Deshmukh is the new Home Minister, and Jitendra Awhad gets the Housing Ministry.

Shiv Sena's Aditya Thackeray has been assigned Environment, Tourism & Protocol, senior colleague Subhas Desai will handle Industries and Mining Ministry, and Eknath Shinde is the new Urban Development & PWD (Public Undertakings) Minister.

From the Congress, Balasaheb Thorat will handle the Revenue Department, Nitin Raut will handle Energy Ministry, and ex-CM Ashok Chavan has been given the PWD Ministry.

The other important Cabinet portfolios allocated are:

Shiv Sena: Dadaji D. Bhuse - Agriculture, Uday Samant - Higher & Technical Education, Sanjay D. Rathod - Forest, Disaster Management, R&R, Gulabrao Patil - Water Supply & Sanitation, Sandipanrao Bhumre - Employment Guarantee & Horticulture, Anil Parab - Transport & Parliamentary Affairs, Shankarrao Gadakh (KSK Part) - Soil & Water Conservation.

NCP: Chhagan Bhujbal - Food & Civil Supplies, Jayant Patil - Water Resources & Command Area Development, Dhananjay P. Munde - Social Justice & Special Assistance, Dilip Walse-Patil - Labour & State Excise, Nawab M. Malik - Minority Development & Wakf, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Hasan Mushrif - Rural Development, Rajendra Shingane - Food & Drugs Administration, Public Health & Family Welfare, Rajesh Tope - Public Health & Family Welfare, Balasaheb P. Patil - Cooperation & Marketing.

Congress: Varsha Gaikwad - School Education, Sunil Kedar - Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, Sports & Youth Welfare, Vijay Wadettiwar - OBCs and all other backward classes, nomadic tribes, Khar lands development & Earthquake Rehabilitation, Amit V. Deshmukh - Medical Education & Culture, K. C. Padvi - Tribal Development, Aslam R. Shaikh - Textiles, Fisheries and Ports Development, Yashomati Thakur-Sonawane - Women & Child Development.