Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Friday distributed portfolios among newly sworn-in ministers and issued an advisory on the execution of their respective departmental functions within hours.
The advisory, a rarity in the over-two-decade-long Jharkhand Assembly history, was issued during the second cabinet meeting of the newly elected government (first with the new ministers) held on Thursday evening after the cabinet berths were allocated in a communique issued around 2.30pm.
“In my memory, it is the first such instance in Jharkhand when the newly inducted ministers have been issued an advisory at a cabinet meeting. It is a welcome step aimed at setting in place a better work culture among the cabinet ministers and their subordinates,” said Ranchi-based political columnist and veteran journalist Ashok Verma.
The advisory also asked the cabinet ministers to check the background thoroughly while appointing personal secretaries and personal staff “so that controversial employees do not get a place in the minister’s office”.
“It seems the government has learnt its lesson from the past in which former minister Alamgir Alam (Congress leader currently under judicial custody after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate earlier this year over money-laundering charges) earned a bad name after his personal secretary and domestic servant were found with heaps of cash from their residences,” said Verma.
The advisory recommends that ministers thoroughly review the proposals and ensure their feasibility before presenting them at the cabinet meeting. They should consult with the finance, law, and personnel departments to avoid any financial or legal obstacles in implementing the proposals.
It also asks the ministers to mandatorily visit regional offices in the districts of their respective departments and review the activities, understand their merits and demerits and also take feedback from beneficiaries of various schemes.
It also seeks prompt action on pending schemes delayed for a long time and focuses on including remote areas with inaccessible terrains under the proposals of their departments.
The advisory also asks the ministers to explore possibilities of increasing revenue collection and prepare an outline of the schemes to be taken in the year 2025-26.
It also seeks review from the ministers on the unused buildings in their respective departments so that they can be used properly.
The advisory asks ministers to ensure that subordinate officers of their ministry review the status of the promotion of the employee, grant promotion and review the court case faced by their ministry so that the government presents its stand in a better manner.
It also asks the minister to visit districts outside Assembly constituencies and solve problems of masses related to their ministry and also meet the local MLAs.
Earlier on Friday. Hemant Soren kept key departments like home, personnel, road construction, building construction and several others under his charge, according to a government notification.
Congress leader Radha Krishna Kishore has been given the responsibility of finance, commercial tax, planning and development department and parliamentary affairs department.
Other ministers and their portfolios include Deepak Birua (revenue registration, land reform department and transport department), Chamra Linda (ST, SC and backward class welfare department), Sanjay Prasad Yadav (labour employment training skill development and industries department), Ramdas Soren (school education and literacy department), Irfan Ansari (health, food and public distribution and consumer affairs), Hafizul Hasan (water resources and minority welfare), Deepika Pandey (rural development and panchayati raj), Yogendra Prasad (drinking water and sanitation, excise), Sudivya Kumar (urban development and housing, technical education, arts, culture, sports).
Youngest minister Shipi Neha Tirkey from the Congress got the agriculture and animal husbandry department.
