Raipur. The state Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey has been given the additional charge of Panchayat and Rural Development Department. The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel made this announcement on Thursday.
It may be noted that on 16th of this month, Minister TS Singh Dev had resigned from the Panchayat and Rural Development Department. However, Singh Dev will continue to be a minister for the other four departments.
Baghel made the announcement to hand over the accountability of Panchayat and Rural Development Department to Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey in the Assembly on the second day of the monsoon session. With the new charge, senior Congress leader Ravindra Choubey will now be the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Agriculture Development and Farmers Welfare and Biotechnology, Livestock Development, Fisheries, Water Resources, Panchayat and Rural Development Departments. Choubey is an MLA from Saja Assembly constituency in Bemetara district of the state. He has also been the Leader of the Opposition during the previous Raman Singh government (2009 to 2013).
On the 16th of this month, Singh Dev had left the Panchayat Department citing various reasons, saying that “Keeping in view the important issues in line with the ideology of the People’s Manifesto, I am of the opinion that all the goals of the Department should be met.” In the present circumstances, I am finding myself unable to complete it with dedication. Therefore, I am disassociating myself from the Panchayat and Rural Development Department. Singh Dev had said that he would continue to be the Minister of Public Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, Twenty Point Implementation, Commercial Tax (GST) Department.
