A week after expanding his cabinet, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa allocated portfolios to seven new ministers and also reshuffled the departments of some others. Ending a long wait, Yediyurappa expanded his 17-month old cabinet on January 13, by inducting seven ministers and also dropped H Nagesh who was holding the Excise portfolio, but the exercise led to resentment with several aspirants expressing reservations over not being included in the ministry.
Against the sanctioned strength of 34, the Yediyurappa cabinet now has 33 members. The Forest Department has been taken back from Anand Singh, who has now been given the Tourism portfolio in addition to Environment and Ecology. The newly inducted Aravind Limbavali has been allotted the Forest Department.
C C Patil, who earlier held Mines and Geology, has now been given charge of Small Scale Industries and Information and Public Relations department.
Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari has been relieved from the responsibility of Fisheries, Ports and Inland Transport Department and will now have Muzrai and Backward Classes Welfare Department.
While Haj and Wakf Department has been taken back from Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan, Labour Minister A. Shivaram Hebbar has lost the Sugar department.
Karnataka Cabinet portfolio re-allocation
The Chief Minister has kept the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), Cabinet Affairs, Finance, Bangalore Development, Energy, Intelligence, Planning, Programme Monitoring Statistics, Infrastructure Development, and all unallocated portfolios with himself.
(With PTI inputs)
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