The Uttarakhand government on Sunday allocated portfolios to ministers following the recent cabinet expansion, assigning key departments to streamline governance and accelerate development work.
Under the major cabinet overhaul, Uttarakhand governor Lt Gen (retd) Gurmit Singh, acting on the advice of the chief minister, issued a formal notification on Sunday under the Uttarakhand Business (Allocation) Rules, 2003, to redistribute portfolios among the Council of Ministers, effectively superseding all previous orders from 2022, 2023, and 2025.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has retained departments and responsibilities including personnel and vigilance, secretariat administration, planning, state property, information, home, prisons, civil defence and home guard, revenue, industrial development and mining, council of ministers, labour, drinking water, energy and alternative energy, excise, justice, civil aviation, finance, commercial tax, stamp and registration, and housing.
Satpal Maharaj has been assigned the Public Works Department (PWD), rural construction, culture, religious affairs, tourism, irrigation, minor irrigation, and general administration.
Ganesh Joshi has been assigned agriculture and farmer welfare, agricultural education and marketing, horticulture and food processing, sericulture development, and sainik welfare.
Dhan Singh Rawat has been assigned basic and secondary school education, sanskrit education, higher education, technical education, and cooperatives.
Subodh Uniyal has been assigned forest, election, legislative and parliamentary affairs, and medical health and medical education.
Rekha Arya has been assigned women empowerment and child development, food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, sports, and youth welfare.
Saurabh Bahuguna has been assigned animal husbandry, dairy development, fisheries, sugarcane development and sugar industry, protocol, and skill development and employment.
Khajan Das has been assigned social welfare, minority welfare, student welfare, and language.
Bharat Singh Chaudhary has been assigned rural development, MSME, and khadi and village industries.
Madan Kaushik has been assigned panchayati raj, disaster management and rehabilitation, AYUSH and AYUSH Education, reorganization, and census.
Pradeep Batra has been assigned transport, information technology and good governance (Suraj), science and technology, and biotechnology.
Ram Singh Kaira has been allocated urban development, environmental protection and climate change, and watershed management. Per the notification signed by chief secretary Anand Vardhan, any department not specifically assigned to a cabinet minister remains under the direct authority of the chief minister.
“The past four years of our government have been dedicated to service, good governance, and public welfare. In keeping with this commitment, portfolios have now been allocated among all my cabinet colleagues—including the newly inducted members. Every member of the cabinet is experienced and deeply committed to public service. Prioritising public service above all else, the entire government will dedicate itself wholeheartedly to transforming Uttarakhand into a leading and exemplary state within a developed India. We have all been granted the privilege of serving the 1.25 crore people of Uttarakhand, a populace we revere as divine, and it is this spirit of service that constantly inspires us to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of our cherished people,” Dhami said.
Officials said that from a political and administrative perspective, this allocation of portfolios is being viewed as an attempt to strike a balance. The departments have been reorganized with due consideration for administrative efficiency, alongside regional and social equilibrium.
The Uttarakhand government on Friday carried out the cabinet expansion, with five MLAs taking oath as ministers. The newly inducted ministers included Bhimtal MLA Ram Singh Kaira, Rajpur MLA Khajan Das, Haridwar MLA Madan Kaushik, Roorkee MLA Pradeep Batra, and Rudraprayag MLA Bharat Singh Chaudhary.
The expansion and allocation of portfolios come at a time when the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is preparing for the 2027 assembly elections and aiming to secure a third consecutive term in the state. Five ministerial positions had been lying vacant in the cabinet led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Of these, three posts remained unfilled after the BJP returned to power for a second consecutive term in 2022. Two additional vacancies arose following the death of minister Chandan Ram Das in 2023 and the resignation of Premchand Aggarwal in March 2025. Prior to the expansion, the cabinet included senior leaders such as Satpal Maharaj, Dhan Singh Rawat, Ganesh Joshi, Subodh Uniyal, Saurabh Bahuguna, and Rekha Arya.
