Mamata reshuffles portfolios after dropping three ministers
Kolkata, June 6: A day after she removed three ministers, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday reshuffled her ministry, saying the exercise was undertaken to reduce the workload of some of them.
The three ministers - Churamani Mahato, James Kujur and Abani Joardar - resigned on Wednesday, apparently under Banerjee's instructions.
While Joardar has not been keeping well for long, Mahato and Kujur's removal came against the backdrop of Trinamoool Congress' relatively lacklustre performance in some tribal areas of the state in the recent Panchayat (rural body) polls.
However, so far there have been no official comments from the party or the government regarding the reasons for the three's removal.
In the reshuffle, veteran minister Subrata Mukherjee has been entrusted with the Water Resources Investigation and Development portfolio, in addition to the vital Panchayat and Rural Development.
However, the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Ministry, so far run by him, has now been given to Moloy Ghatak, who would also continue to hold charge of Law and Labour Departments, an official notification said.
Soumen Mahapatra, who so far was in charge of Water Resources Investigation and Development, would now get the crucial Irrigation and Waterways Ministry. Rajib Banerjee, who ran the Irrigation Department so long, would now move to Backward Class Welfare Department.
Sovan Chatterjee, also the Kolkata Mayor, has had his wings clipped, as he lost the Environment Ministry, but retained Fire and Emergency Services and Housing portfolios.
Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari has got the additional charge of Environment, the notification said.
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Land and Land Reforms departments Chandrima Bhattacharya has also been handed the independent charge of Personnel and Administrative Reforms and e-governance.
She has also got the additional charges of Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation and Tribal Development.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
