Deputy Chief Minister RC Laloo and Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh were the losers in Friday’s Cabinet reshuffle. Ronnie V Lyngdoh, a new entrant, became the gainer by replacing Ampareen.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma reshuffled the portfolios of his ministers soon after the new ministers -Ronnie and MM Danggo.
Laloo lost the Higher and Technical Education and School Education and the Literacy Departments. He has been put in charge of Food and Civil Supply and Consumers Affairs, Home (passport) and Science and Technology. Laloo will also continue to hold the Revenue and Disaster Management and reorganisation portfolio.
Ronnie will hold the Municipal Administration, Soil and Water Conservation and Arts and Culture portfolios, besides Urban Affairs. MM Danggo has been allotted PWD (Roads), Parliamentary Affairs and Stamps and Registration.
HDR Lyngdoh – who was responsible for the Cooperation Department, the District Council Affairs, General Administration and the Transport Departments – has been given one of the most important portfolios — Home (Police). He has also got Animal Husbandry and Veterinary portfolio. Lyngdoh retains GAD and Transport.
Prestone Tynsong lost the Department of Forest and Environment to Clement Marak. But the Chief Minister compensated it by giving him the responsibility of Public Health Engineering and District Council Affairs, in addition to the Border Areas Development and Administrative Reforms.
Clement Marak, who is considered a Mukul Sangma loyalist, will hold the additional responsibility of the Departments of Social Welfare and Sericulture and Weaving besides Forests.
Though senior Congress leader Deborah Marak had to part with the Social Welfare Department, she gained School Education and Literacy. She has also been allotted Home Guards and Civil Defence, in addition to her previous departments of Printing and Stationary and Secretariat Administration.
Zenith Sangma will continue to look after the Departments of Taxation, Sports and Youth Affairs, Excise and Housing.
Former Home Minister Roshan Warjri is now the Health and Family Welfare Minister. She will also be in charge of Higher and Technical Education, Law and Cooperation.
Most of the departments previously held by A.L Hek have now been given to Ampareen. She will now hold Information Technology, Information and Public Relations, PWD (Building) and Labour portfolios. Sniawbhalang Dhar has been given the plum post of Power, Home (Jails), Community and Rural Development and Legal Metrology.
When contacted, Ampareen said every department is important and she was looking after the Urban Affairs Department for four years. “Now we will have a new perspective in urban management,” she said and added that the Chief Minister has taken these decisions “with the right intention”. She also said it would be a good learning experience for the ministers who have got new departments.
