In a cabinet reshuffle, the Goa government today announced that newly-inducted state minister Rajendra Arlekar would take charge of the forest and environment ministries.
The reshuffle would be made effective tomorrow, a release from the state Information and Publicity department said.
Arlekar would take charge from incumbent Alina Saldanha who has in the past earned the ire of many ministers as well as legislators for opposing several government-backed tourism and infrastructure projects on environmental grounds and was rumoured to be on her way out of the Environment Ministry.
Saldanha has now been allotted the department of Rural Development, which was with state Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar ever since former minister Francisco Pacheco resigned from the Cabinet.
Pacheco resigned after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction in a case of assault on a government servant.
In addition to the departments of Forest and Environment, Arlekar will also be given charge of the Directorate of Panchayats, currently held by Parsekar.
In another major change, Parsekar would take charge of the state Information and Publicity department from Milind Naik.
The Chief Minister has retained the main portfolios of Home, Finance and Mines.
The reshuffle was necessitated after Arlekar was sworn in as the 12th minister on October 1, filling the berth vacated by Pacheco.
