Harish gets Finance, KTR retains IT, MAUD

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who expanded his Cabinet on Sunday, retained key portfolios of Irrigation, Land & Revenue, Commercial Taxes and Mining with him and allotted other departments to the newly inducted ministers.

It is said that KCR has retained the Irrigation portfolio since he has taken up the Kaleshwaram and Palamuru Ranga Reddy projects as a prestigious one and was personally supervising the progress of these projects.

The Chief Minister, however, on the eve of the budget session decided to give up the Finance portfolio.

TRS senior leader T Harish Rao has been given the responsibility of handling the Finance portfolio and he will be presenting the budget for the first time on Monday.

While TRS working president KT Rama Rao retained IT, Industry and Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) departments, which he had held in the past.

In a minor reshuffle of the portfolios, Education Minister G Jagadish Reddy was shifted to Energy. Reddy received strong criticism on Inter results fiasco which claimed the lives of nearly 20 students.

From then onwards, the Education Minister was maintaining a low profile in the government. In the first term of the KCR government also, he was shifted to Energy from the Education portfolio.

Newly inducted minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy, who switched to the TRS before the Lok Sabha elections, was given the Education portfolio. She will have to monitor the affairs of Primary, Secondary, Higher and Technical Education in the state.

The first-time minister, Gangula Kamalakar, was given the BC welfare, Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs portfolios. TRS MLC Satyavathi Rathod was given the ST Welfare, Women and Child Welfare departments.

Till recently, Labour Minister Ch Malla Reddy was holding the Women Welfare portfolio.

The second time MLA from the Khammam (Urban) Assembly segment, Puvvada Ajay was given the portfolio of Transport department, currently held by Roads and Buildings and Legislative Affairs Minister V Prashanth Reddy.

It is learnt that KCR is further reviewing the performance of the ministers and their portfolios may be reshuffled in a week or 10 days. Harish Rao is likely to get some more portfolios.