PANAJI: Making a cabinet reshuffle, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Sunday allotted portfolios of Forest and Environment, and Panchayats to the newly-inducted minister Rajendra Arlekar.
Arlekar was sworn in as the 12th minister in the Parsekar government in place of Mickky Pacheco, who had to resign as RDA Minister in April after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction for assaulting a government official in 2006 and pronounced a six-month imprisonment.
Incumbent Forest and Environment Minister Alina Saldanha, who was holding the ministry since last three years, will now be at the helm of Science and Technology and RDA portfolios along with her earlier Museum portfolio.
Panchayat portfolio was with Minister for Art and Culture Dayanand Mandrekar. Parsekar will take charge of Information and Publicity department from Milind Naik, who is also the Minister of Power.
The official list of portfolios of the portfolios was released to the media after consent from the Governor Mridula Sinha. There is however no change in any other portfolios putting to rest the speculations that the Dhawalikar brothers would be stripped of their portfolios and the same would be given to Arlekar.