J&K: Portfolios allocated to 5 newly inducted ministers in Omar-led cabinet

Jammu and Kashmir (J&k) government allocated portfolios to the newly inducted ministers in chief minister (CM) Omar Abdullah-led cabinet on Friday.
The lieutenant governor (LG) Manoj Sinha issued an order allocating the portfolios on the advice of the CM. As per the order, deputy CM Surinder Kumar Choudhary has been allocated departments for public works (R&B), industries and commerce, mining, labour and employment, and skill development.
Sakeena Masood (Itoo), who is the only woman in the council of ministers, has been given health & medical education, school education, higher education and social welfare departments. She was the social welfare minister during Abdullah’s first tenure as the CM in the erstwhile state.
Javed Ahmed Rana will be the minister for jal shakti, forest, ecology & environment and tribal affairs departments. Javid Ahmad Dar has been given departments of agriculture production, rural development & panchayati raj, cooperative, and election.
Satish Sharma has been assigned the charge food, civil supplies & consumer affairs, transport, science & technology, information technology, youth services & sports and ARI & trainings. On Thursday, Abdullah held his first cabinet meeting at the Civil Secretariat, in which a resolution regarding the restoration of J&K’s statehood was passed. People familiar with the matter said the J&K CM will hand over the resolution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the coming days.
Meanwhile, senior National Conference (NC) leader and former minister Abdul Rahim Rather could be elected as speaker of the J&K assembly. The NC is likely to give the deputy speaker’s post to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has 29 assembly members in the 90-member house.
The LG has appointed MLA Mubarik Gul as the pro tem speaker of the new legislative assembly on Friday, an official order said.
Gul, who won Idgah assembly seat in Srinagar for the sixth time, will administeroath to the newly elected members of the assembly on Monday, according to the order issued by the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly secretariat.
The oath/ affirmation will be administered in the legislative assembly, Srinagar, on October 21 at 2 pm. Gul will also discharge the functions of the speaker till the election of the speaker is held, added an official communication issued in this regard.