WAJAHAT SHABIR
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has reallocated portfolios among its ministers following the first major cabinet expansion of the National Conference-led government, with senior minister Sakeena Masood Itoo losing School Education and Higher Education, while Javed Ahmed Rana has been divested of Jal Shakti and Forest, Ecology and Environment.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha assigned portfolios to eight ministers through an order, including four newly inducted members of the Council of Ministers. The reshuffle follows the induction of National Conference legislators Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shamim Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani on Tuesday.
The expansion has taken the strength of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Council of Ministers to nine, including the Chief Minister, the maximum permissible under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
Independent legislator Satish Sharma, the only minister representing the mainland Jammu region, has been dropped from the Cabinet. The four newly inducted ministers have been accommodated through a redistribution of portfolios previously held by existing ministers and Sharma.
Sakeena Masood Itoo, who previously held Health and Medical Education, School Education, Higher Education and Social Welfare, will now retain only Health and Medical Education and Social Welfare.
The School Education and Higher Education departments have been assigned to newly inducted minister Shamim Firdous, who has also been given charge of Jal Shakti, previously held by Javed Ahmed Rana.
The transfer marks a significant change in the distribution of the education portfolio, which had remained with Itoo since the formation of the Omar Abdullah government in October 2024.
Javed Ahmed Rana has also seen his portfolio reduced, with Jal Shakti and Forest, Ecology and Environment no longer under his charge. Rana will now handle Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Tribal Affairs and Transport. The Food and Transport departments were previously held by Satish Sharma, while Tribal Affairs was already with Rana.
The Forest, Ecology and Environment Department has been assigned to Altaf Ahmad Wani, one of the four newly inducted ministers. Javid Ahmed Dar, who previously held Agriculture Production, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Cooperatives and Elections, will retain Agriculture Production and Cooperatives.
He has been assigned the Finance and Mining departments, while Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has gone to Altaf Ahmad Wani and the Elections Department has been allocated to Ali Mohammad Sagar.
The transfer of Mining to Dar is also a change from the earlier allocation under which the department was assigned to Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary.
Senior National Conference leader Ali Mohammad Sagar has been assigned five departments: Revenue, Power Development, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, and Elections.
Sagar’s allocation places several key administrative and governance-related departments under his charge. He had earlier served as a minister in Jammu and Kashmir before the Union Territory’s current government was formed.
Newly inducted minister Mir Saifullah has been assigned the Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, Culture Department, Youth Services and Sports Department, and ARI and Trainings Department.
The Youth Services and Sports and ARI and Trainings departments were previously held by Satish Sharma. Their transfer to Saifullah follows Sharma’s exit from the Cabinet. Shamim Firdous, the newly inducted legislator from Habbakadal, has been given School Education, Higher Education and Jal Shakti.
The education departments were previously held by Sakeena Itoo, while Jal Shakti was under Javed Ahmed Rana.
Altaf Ahmad Wani, the newly inducted MLA from Pahalgam, has been assigned Forest, Ecology and Environment, along with Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
Both departments have been transferred from existing ministers. Forest was previously with Rana, while Rural Development and Panchayati Raj was held by Javid Ahmed Dar. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary will continue to handle Public Works (Roads and Buildings), Industries and Commerce, Labour and Employment, and Skill Development.
However, Mining, which was part of his earlier portfolio, has been assigned to Javid Ahmed Dar under the new order.
Satish Sharma, who held Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Transport, Science and Technology, Information Technology, Youth Services and Sports, and ARI and Trainings, has been dropped from the Council of Ministers.
Following his exit, Food and Transport have been assigned to Rana, while Youth Services and Sports and ARI and Trainings have gone to Saifullah.
The October 28 order does not list Science and Technology or Information Technology among the portfolios assigned to the eight ministers. It states that departments or subjects not allocated to any minister will remain with the Chief Minister.
The induction of four National Conference legislators marks the first expansion of the Omar Abdullah-led government since it assumed office in October 2024.
The newly inducted ministers represent Khanyar, Trehgam, Habbakadal and Pahalgam. With their induction and Sharma’s removal, the Council of Ministers has reached its maximum permissible strength of nine, including the Chief Minister.
