PANAJI
The lone non-BJP Minister Sudin Dhavalikar has been given the prominent power portfolio, besides housing and new and renewable energy, as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant allotted portfolios to three ministers recently inducted into his cabinet, while also appointing 12 MLAs as heads to various government corporations, boards and PDAs.
Nilkanth Halarnkar has been given the portfolio of fisheries in addition to animal husbandry & veterinary services, and factories and boilers, while first-time minister Subhash Phaldesai has been given the portfolios of social welfare, river navigation and archives and archaeology.
This is the last set of allocation of portfolios by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to his Council of Ministers after eight of them were earlier allotted portfolios.
Meanwhile, 12 MLAs have been made heads of corporations.
While Curtorim’s Independent MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco has been appointed chairman of Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), Ganesh Gaonkar has been made chairman of Goa Tourism Development Corporation.
Other MLAs appointed to head corporations are Ganesh Gaonkar (Goa Tourism Development Corporation), Premendra Shet (Goa State Horticultural Corporation), Ulhas Tuemkar (Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited), Pravin Arlekar (Goa Handicrafts Rural & Small Scale Industries Development Corporation), Dr Chandrakant Shetye (Infotech Corporation of Goa) and Dr Deviya Rane (Goa Forest
Development Corporation).
Cortalim MLA Antonio Vas has been made head of the Goa Khadi And Village Industries Board, while Jeet Arolkar will head the Goa
Housing Board.
Mapusa MLA Joshua de Souza has been appointed Vice Chairman of Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, while Krishna (Daji) Salkar has been appointed chairperson of the South Goa Planning & Development Authority (SGPDA) and Jennifer Monserrate has been appointed chairperson of North Goa Planning & Development Authority (NGPDA).
Considered to be among the most coveted corporations, the Goa IDC, has gone to Reginaldo Lourenco who missed the cabinet berth causing much consternation among his supporters.
The SGPDA has been allotted to Vasco MLA Daji Salkar to which Reginaldo said he had never set his eyes on the authority. He went on to say people consider the DPA as a ‘pidda’ (disease).
The Curtorim MLA asserted he was never after any posts and positions.
