Face2News/Chandigarh

On the tenth day after issuance of a Gazette Notification dated 1st Jan 2023 by Cabinet Secretariat of Haryana Government pertaining to amendment in the Business of the Haryana Government (Allocation) Rules, 1974 the consequential changes have been made in the list of Portfolios/Departments as allocated to the Council of Ministers in ruling Manohar Lal Government via issuance of a fresh Notification. 

Meanwhile, an Advocate at Punjab and Haryana High Court, Hemant Kumar said that prior to the recent Amendment in State Government Business Allocation Rules, there were a total 54 Departments included in Business of the Haryana Government (Allocation) Rules, 1974 which are now reduced to 46. 

However, the total number of Portfolios as allocated to the Council of Ministers including CM ML Khattar even after amendment as shown in Notification dated 10 Jan 2023 is 50. 

Hemant reveals that this difference of four arises because Criminal Investigation ( read C.I.D.) as allocated to Chief Minister Khattar, Rehabilitation to Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, AYUSH to Cabinet Minister Anil Vij and Hospitality Cabinet Minister Kanwar Pal are however not listed as (separate) Portfolios/ Departments in Haryana Government Business Allocation Rules, 1974 neither before nor after latest amendment as applicable with effect from 1 Jan, 2023. 

Meanwhile, the Advocate further told that after owing to amendment in the aforementioned Haryana Government Business Allocation Amendment Rules the erstwhile Archaeology and Museums, as hitherto allocated to Cabinet Minister Devender Singh Babli is no more a Department. It has been merged with the Tourism Department and has been rechristened as Heritage and Tourism Department. Earlier Tourism Department was allocated to Cabinet Minister Kanwar Pal, now the newly created Heritage and Tourism Department has also been allocated to Kanwar Pal by the Governor Bandaru Dattatraya on the recommendation of CM Khattar. 

Then erstwhile Arts and Cultural Affairs Department,which was earlier with Kanwar Pal, has been abolished as Department and merged with Information,Public Relations and Language Department which makes its new name as Information, Public Relations, Languages and Culture Department which is now with CM himself.  

Hemant further asserted that the Consolidation Department as earlier allocated to Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala has been merged with the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, which is however also with Dushyant. Hence, this change would make no impact except that it would not be shown as a different Department as allocated to Dushyant.

Hemant reveals that this difference of four arises because Criminal Investigation ( read C.I.D.) as allocated to Chief Minister Khattar, Rehabilitation to Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, AYUSH to Cabinet Minister Anil Vij and Hospitality Cabinet Minister Kanwar Pal are however not listed as (separate) Portfolios/ Departments in Haryana Government Business Allocation Rules, 1974 neither before nor after latest amendment as applicable with effect from 1 Jan, 2023. 

 Next, the higher education component within the Education Department as was earlier allocated to Cabinet Minister Kanwar Pal has been made as a separate Higher Education Department. However, the erstwhile two departments of Technical Education and Science & Technology, which were allocated to Cabinet Minister Anil Vij, would lose their status as different departments and are now part of new Higher Education Department. Meanwhile, the newly created Higher Education Department has now been allocated to Cabinet Minister Mool Chand Sharma.

Further, the two Departments viz. Power and New & Renewable Energy as hitherto allocated to Cabinet Minister Ranjit Singh (Chautala) have been merged into one viz. Department of Energy. Hence, this change would make no impact except reducing the number of departments allocated to Ranjit from three to two. The Jails Department is also allocated to Ranjit. 

Next, the Information Technology, Electronics and Communication Department, which has been with CM himself, has been abolished as Department and its functions have been distributed between Citizen Resources Information segment under General Administration Department (GAD), which is also with CM and Industries and Commerce Department, which however is with Deputy CM, Dushyant Chautala. 

Further, the Forests Department, as earlier allocated to Cabinet Minister Kanwar Pal has been abolished as Department and has been merged with earlier Environment and Climate Change Department which is with CM and the name of newly created Department is Environment, Forests and Wildlife Department. This new Department has also been allocated to Kanwar Pal by the CM. 

Next, the erstwhile Labour and Employment Department, which was earlier allocated to Minister of State Anoop Dhanak has been rechristened as only Labour Department with the Employment component within it now forming part of a newly created Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Department which also completely subsumes Skill Development and Industrial Training Department which was earlier allocated to Cabinet Minister Mool Chand Sharma. Also this newly created Department also includes the Youth Affairs part of erstwhile Sports and Youth Affairs Department which was earlier with Minister of State Sandeep Singh but which was taken back by CM officially recently on Jan 7, 2023. Meanwhile this newly created Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Department is with CM himself. 

Also, the erstwhile Department viz. Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, earlier allocated to Cabinet Minister Banwari Lal, has been abolished as a Department. It has actually been merged with the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, hitherto allocated to Minister of State, Om Prakash Yadav.

Also now Antyodaya too has been added to the newly created department which makes the name of the department as Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes and Antyodaya (SEWA) Department. The Chief Minister has also retained newly created SEWA Department with himself. However, Public Health Engineering Department, which earlier use to be with CM has now been allocated to Cabinet Minister Banwari Lal apart from Cooperation, asserts Hemant Kumar.