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| Coalition Ministers await rationalisation of portfolios | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Sept 18: Does the ministerial portfolio distribution call for rationalization? This question has assumed importance after several ministers feel going tough as the current demarcation may encourage interference. Inside reports said that four major activities including health, education, agriculture, irrigation and flood control which should have remained integrated stand disintegrated.
The portfolio of Health and Medical Education used to remain in the hands of one minister. Till 1987 RS Chib, during the time Farooq Abdullah headed the coalition Government, held health and medical education. He, however, had resigned when the portfolio was bifurcated. It remained bifurcated for several years but when Mangat Ram Sharma was inducted as Deputy Chief Minister in 2002 he was given the portfolio of health and medical education.
Once the two wings are bifurcated it becomes difficult for the one to oversee work related to both the wings, which are interrelated. Similarly the man who has been given the portfolio of agriculture should have been given the portfolio of horticulture also. The two activities are interrelated. Again flood control and irrigation have remained integral part of the activities related to land and soil. In case of education it has been trifurcated. Technical education is in the hands of one minister, higher education has been alloted to another minister and school education is with yet another minister. Luckily medical and technical education have been given to one minister. In fact even if the department of education has witnessed multifaceted development requiring to manned by more than one minister the entire activities coming under the education sector should have gone in the hands of t wo ministers and not three.
Official sources disclosed that the confusion over the portfolio distribution is the result of pressure being mounted by legislators or by the political parties, if the state is rule by a coalition, on the Chief Minister or on the party presidents for securing plump portfolio. Those who get inducted in the cabinet choose their portfolios on the basis of the funds earmarked by the centre. For instance a minister would prefer to have health portfolio to medical education because the former has number of centrally sponsored schemes including the major thrust on National Rural Health Mission.
Sources said that Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, has already been apprised of the conflict the result of disintegration of portfolios. These sources said that rationalization of portfolios may be carried out after inducting two more legislators in the cabinet. Omar is heading a 23-member council of ministers and he has still the optional scope for inducting two more people in the cabinet. The constitution provides that the size of the council of ministers should not be more than 25.
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