Himanta Biswa Sarma Allocates Portfolios to New Assam Cabinet Ministers
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma retained Home, PWD and Power portfolios while assigning key departments including Finance, Education and Health to cabinet colleagues.
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday announced the allocation of portfolios among members of the newly constituted Council of Ministers, retaining several key departments while assigning responsibilities to 12 ministers who were recently inducted into the cabinet.
The portfolio allocation was approved by the Governor of Assam and announced by the chief minister through a post on social media platform X.
Sarma retained charge of the Home and Political Department, Public Works Department (Buildings and National Highways), Public Works Department (Roads), Power, Information and Public Relations, Printing and Stationery, as well as departments not allotted to any other minister.
Among senior cabinet members, Education Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu retained the School Education and Higher Education portfolios. He has also been assigned Tribal Affairs (Plains) and Information Technology.
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Ashok Singhal retained the Health and Family Welfare Department along with Medical Education and Research, while Bimal Borah was allocated Cultural Affairs, Industries, Commerce and Public Enterprises, and Act East Policy Affairs.
A significant allocation was made to Jayanta Malla Baruah, a close associate of the chief minister, who was entrusted with the Finance Department. He will also oversee Environment and Forest, and Mines and Minerals.
Other ministers and their portfolios include Ashwini Ray Sarkar with Social Justice and Empowerment, Soil Conservation, and Welfare of Minorities and Development; Biswajit Daimary with Handloom, Textiles and Sericulture, Sports and Youth Welfare, Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship, and Indigenous and Tribal Faith and Culture; and Kaushik Rai with Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Cooperation.
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Keshab Mahanta has been given Revenue and Disaster Management, Science, Technology and Climate Change, and General Administration. Krishnendu Paul will oversee Public Health Engineering, Hill Areas, and Barak Valley Development, while Nilima Devi has been assigned Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, and Fishery.
Pijush Hazarika will handle Agriculture, Irrigation and Parliamentary Affairs, while Susanta Borgohain has been allocated Water Resources and Judicial departments.
The 12 ministers were sworn into office on June 5, while four other ministers—Rameswar Teli, Ajanta Neog, Atul Bora and Charan Boro—had taken oath alongside the chief minister on May 12. Their portfolios had already been announced earlier.
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Former Union Minister Rameswar Teli was assigned Labour Welfare, Tea Tribes and Adivasi Welfare, and Transformation and Development. Ajanta Neog, who served as Finance Minister in the previous government, was allocated Women and Child Development and Tourism.
Atul Bora was given charge of Panchayat and Rural Development, Implementation of Assam Accord, Border Protection and Development, and Excise. Charan Boro retained the Transport and Welfare of Bodoland portfolios.
In his message on X, Sarma extended his best wishes to all members of the Council of Ministers and expressed confidence that the team would work collectively to accelerate Assam’s development and prosperity.
The Assam Cabinet currently has 17 members, including the chief minister, against a permissible strength of 19 ministers in the 126-member Assembly.
The cabinet consists of 13 ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), and one from the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), reflecting the composition of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The NDA secured a record 102 seats in the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly, with the BJP winning 82 seats, while alliance partners AGP and BPF won 10 seats each.
