Minister Aman Arora will now head the Governance Reforms department. (File)
In a shuffling of portfolios of five Punjab ministers on Wednesday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took away two key departments including Housing and Urban Development from Aman Arora.
Chief Minister Mann shuffled the portfolios of his five ministers -- Aman Arora, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Anmol Gagan Mann.
The chief minister will now keep Housing and Urban Development, which was earlier with Mr Arora.
The CM also shed a portfolio giving Employment Generation and Training to Arora, the AAP MLA from Sunam.
Another key department, Information and Public Relations, which was earlier held by Mr Arora, has now been given to Mr Jouramajra.
Transport Minister Bhullar will now also handle Food Processing Department, which was earlier held by Mr Jouramajra.
The Governance Reforms Department earlier held by Mr Hayer and Removal of Grievances, which was earlier held by Anmol Gagan Mann, have now been given to Mr Arora.
The decision to shuffle portfolios of some of his ministers by Chief Minister Mann came when his government completed one year in office on Wednesday.
In a letter to Governor Banwarilal Purohit, the chief minister has sought approval from him for the shuffle. In January, senior AAP leader and Patiala Rural MLA Dr Balbir Singh had been sworn-in as the new cabinet minister, shortly after Fauja Singh Sarari tendered his resignation as minister over an audio clip in which he allegedly discussed ways to "trap" some contractors in order to "extort" money.
In July 2022, the Bhagwant Mann government had carried out its first cabinet expansion inducting five party legislators, including Mr Sarari. After that, the strength of the state cabinet had reached 15, including the chief minister.
There are 18 berths in the Punjab cabinet, including the chief minister.
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