Reshuffle in state Cabinet: Mamata keeps Akhil Giri’s dept; many ministers get add’l charges

Kolkata: In a state Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, several ministers were given additional charges of certain departments with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee taking over charge of the Correctional Home Administration department where Akhil Giri resigned as the minister.

Chandrima Bhattacharya, in charge of the Finance department and also a Minister of State for Health Department and Land Reforms Department, received additional charge of Environment department while Ghulam Rabbani got charge of the Non-conventional and Renewable Energy Sources department.

Babul Supriyo was given additional charge of the department of Public Enterprises and Industrial Reconstruction while retaining his earlier department of Information Technology and Electronics. Manas Bhunia, who is currently in charge of the Water Resources Development Department, received an additional charge of Irrigation and Waterways department that earlier belonged to Partha Bhowmick. Bhowmick has become an MP.

For the last several days there were speculations about the reshuffle of the Cabinet in the state.

A list in this regard was also sent by the state government to the Raj Bhavan a few days back but it did not get the Governor’s approval.

Now, the new list has been released after the Governor assented on the reshuffle in the state Cabinet.

Akhil Giri recently resigned from the post of minister of the Correctional Home Administration department after he made controversial comments against a woman forest officer.

The Chief Minister had ordered him to resign. Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, on Tuesday, accepted Giri’s resignation.