KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee government on Tuesday effected its first reshuffle since the May assembly poll, making outgoing state finance minister Amit Mitra the principal chief adviser to the CM and the finance department and giving public health engineering minister Pulak Roy and water resources minister Manas Bhunia additional charge of the panchayat and consumer affairs departments, respectively.
CM Banerjee kept the crucial finance department with herself; Chandrima Bhattacharya took over as minister of state for finance.
Mitra, who used to represent Khardah in the assembly, did not fight the assembly poll because of health reasons. CM Banerjee, however, was unwilling to let go of Mitra — a graduate from Presidency’s economics department who did his postgraduate studies from Delhi School of Economics and then Duke University in the US — and asked him to continue with the new cabinet-rank designations. Mitra will “advise and aid” the CM on finance-related matters, represent Bengal in national and international events and examine documents referred to him for advice and views.
Banerjee now has eight crucial departments: finance, home and hill affairs, health and family welfare, land and land reforms, information of cultural affairs, North Bengal development and refugee rehabilitation and personnel and administration. But, with Mitra in the thick of things at least in finance, she can also focus on the political battle against the BJP in Bengal and elsewhere while taking care of her administrative responsibilities.
The panchayat department fell vacant after Subrata Mukherjee’s death. Outgoing consumer affairs department minister Sadhan Pande, too, has not been keeping well.
State commerce and industry minister Partha Chatterjee is the new minister for public enterprises and industrial reconstruction departments, held by Mukherjee. State women, child development and social welfare minister Sashi Panja will take additional charge of the self-help group and self-employment department, also held by Mukherjee.
Tuesday’s reshuffle belied speculation that some of the vacancies would see new faces. There was also no change in the urban and municipal affairs department; Bhattacharya continues as minister of state with independent charge. She is also minister of state for the health, land and land reforms and refugee relief and rehabilitation departments. Several of these departments have the CM as the cabinet minister.
