J&K L-G Allots Portfolios To Ministers On Omar Abdullah's Recommendation

(MENAFN- IANS) Srinagar, Oct 28 (IANS) Acting on the recommendations of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday officially allocated portfolios to the newly expanded Council of Ministers.

The portfolio allocation follows a cabinet reshuffle that reached the statutory ceiling of nine ministers, representing the maximum 10 per cent limit for the 90-member Assembly under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act.

The portfolio distribution among the ministers is as follows:

Surinder Kumar Choudhary (Deputy Chief Minister): Public Works (Roads & Buildings), Industries & Commerce, Labour & Employment, and Skill Development.

Ali Muhammad Sagar: Revenue, Power Development, Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction (DMRRR), and Election Department.

Sakeena Masood (Itoo): Retains Health & Medical Education, and Social Welfare.

Javed Ahmad Rana: Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Tribal Affairs, and Transport.

Javid Ahmad Dar: Agriculture Production, Finance, Mining, and Cooperatives.

Mir Saifullah: Planning & Monitoring, Culture, Youth Services & Sports, and ARI & Trainings.

Shamim Firdous: School Education, Higher Education, and Jal Shakti.

Altaf Ahmad Wani: Forest, Ecology & Environment, and Rural Development & Panchayati Raj.

Unassigned portfolios, including Tourism and all other unallocated departments, will be directly retained by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

To accommodate the new inductees, Satish Sharma, an independent MLA from the Chhamb constituency who previously served in the cabinet, was dropped from the Council of Ministers.

The reshuffle has altered the regional and political composition of the cabinet, creating significant geographical imbalances:

Regional Imbalance: The 9-member council now comprises 7 ministers from the Kashmir Valley and only 2 from the Jammu region (Deputy CM Surinder Kumar Choudhary and Javed Ahmad Rana).

Unrepresented Belts: With the removal of Satish Sharma, key districts in the plains of Jammu, including Jammu, Samba, and Kathua, have been left without any cabinet representation. Similarly, Ramban district and wider parts of the Chenab Valley remain unrepresented in the expanded ministry.

Internal Party Discontent: Prominent National Conference (NC) stalwarts, including Mubarak Gul, Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, and Abdul Majeed Larmi, were excluded from the cabinet expansion despite strong expectations of their inclusion, fueling internal discontent within the ruling party.

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