People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) No. 21
May 27,2001
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) |
Vol.
XXV No. 21 May 27,2001 |
Bengal Left Front Announces Cabinet Portfolios
B PRASANT
THE list of ministers and ministers-of-state for the sixth cabinet of ministers of the Left Front government was finalised following the meetings of the state committee of the CPI (M) and then a meeting of the Bengal Left Front. It was released at a press conference by the CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and chairman of the Left Front Sailen Dasgupta. The 48-member cabinet of ministers includes nine new full ministers and six ministers-of-state.
Portfolios of these ministers were announced at the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan within hours after the swearing in on May 19. Polit Bureau member of the CPI (M), Biman Basu released the portfolios list at a press conference. Compared to 1996, there were changes evident both in the creation of new portfolios and rescheduling the allocation of ministerial tasks. New portfolios include: information technology; aquatic resources; and identification of tourism, food processing, and horticulture as independent departments and not as adjuncts of other departments as was the case earlier. Ministers-of-state will now function in the departments of urban development and municipal affairs, and in education. The past cabinet saw the presence of four women ministers. The present cabinet has increased the number to six. Biman Basu said that the performance of the ministers shall be under review and necessary reshuffling might have to be considered on the basis of performance reports. The list of ministers and their allocated portfolios is as follows:
Names of Minister & Portfolios
Chief Minister
1. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Chief Minister; Home (Police), Information and Cultural Affairs, Science and Technology
Cabinet Ministers
2. Nirupam Sen
Industry, Public Undertakings & Industrial Reconstruction, Planning & Development
3. Dr Surya Kanta Mishra
Health & Family welfare, Rural Development, Panchayat
4. Mohd Amin
Labour
5. Asim Dasgupta
Finance
6. Subhas Chakravarty
Transport, Sports, Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners
7. Mohd Salim
Minorities Development & Welfare, Self-employment Scheme for the
Urban Unemployed, Youth Services, Technical Education
8. Kamal Guha
Agriculture
9. Biswanath Chaudhuri
Social Welfare, Jails
10. Kiranmoy Nanda
Fisheries, Aquaculture, Aquatic Resources, Harbours
11. Nandagopal Bhattacharya
Small Irrigation, Water Investigation Development
12. Prabodh Sinha
Parliamentary Affairs & Excise
13. Kalimuddin Shams
Food & Supplies
14. Amar Chaudhuri
Public Works
15. Gautam Deb
Housing & Public Health and Engineering
16. Kanti Biswas
School Education, Madrasah
17. Naren De
Cooperation & Consumer Affairs
18. Manabendra Mukherjee
Information Technology & Environment
19. Ashok Bhattacharyya
Municipal Affairs, Urban Development, Town and Country Planning
20. Dinesh Dakua
Tourism
21. Sailen Sarkar
Food Processing and Horticulture
22. Satyasadhan Chakravarty
Higher Education
23. Amarendralal Roy
Irrigation and Waterways
24. Abdur-Rezzak Mollah
Land and Land Reforms
25. Mrinal Banerjee
Power
26. Bangshagopal Chaudhuri
Cottage & Small Scale Industry
27. Nisith Adhikary
Law and Judicial Department
28. Upen Kisku
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes Welfare
29. Anisur-Rehman
Animal Resources Development
30. Jogesh Chandra Barman
Forests
31. Nemai Mal
Library Services
32. Nandarani Dal
Mass Education
33. Chhaya Ghosh
Agriculture Marketing
34. Hafiz Alam Sairani
Relief
Ministers of State
35. Pratim Chatterjee
Fire Services
36. Dhiren Sen
Land and Land Reforms, Panchayats and Rural Development
37. Susanta Ghosh
Labour, Employment Exchange, Employees’ State Insurance (ESI)
38. Dasarath Tirkey
Public Works
39. Maheswar Murmu
Pashchimanchal Development and Forests
40. Anju Kar
Municipal Affairs
41. Bilasibala Sahis
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBC
42. Ganesh Chandra Mondal
Irrigation & Waterways
43. Srikumar Mukherjee
Civil Defence
44. Kanti Ganguly
Sunderbans Development Affairs
45. Pratyush Mukherjee
Health & Family Welfare
46. Narayan Biswas
Transport
47. Nayan Sarkar
Refugee Rehabilitation
48. Iva De
School Education
