New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann allotted portfolios to his Cabinet on Monday, keeping the home department with himself. The finance department has been given to Harpal Cheema while Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer will be the new education minister.
Dr Vijay Singla has been appointed as the health minister while Harjot S Bains will take over as law and tourism minister.
Dr Baljit Kaur will be the minister of social security, women and child development. The power department will be handled by Harbhajan Singh ETO while Lal Chand Kataruchak has been allotted the food and supply department.
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Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal will be the minister of rural development and panchayati raj. Laljit Singh Bhullar has been appointed as the transport minister and Brahm Shankar Zimpa will be in charge of the water and disaster ministry.
The Punjab cabinet can have a total of 18 ministers, including the Chief Minister.
Ten AAP MLAs were sworn in as Punjab ministers on Saturday. Last week, Bhagwant Mann had taken oath as CM at a programme in Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
In its first meeting on Saturday, the Punjab Cabinet approved 25,000 government jobs in various departments, boards and corporations of the government.
Out of the total 25,000 jobs, 10,000 will be for various posts in Punjab Police, while the remaining jobs will be given in other departments. The process of advertisement and notification of these jobs will be initiated within a month.
A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office said this "historic decision" would open new vistas of employment for the youth by providing the jobs to them in government sector through a transparent and merit based mechanism.
The AAP registered a landslide victory in recently concluded Punjab Assembly election, winning 92 seats in the 117-member Assembly.