Mamata Banerjee allocates additional portfolio to Hakim

Kolkata, Mar 8 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday effected a minor reshuffle to her 10-month-old ministry allocating additional charge of the department of Urban Development and M cipal Affairs to her close aide Firhad Hakim. Chandrima Bhattacharya, who was so long the Minister of State for Finance under Banerjee. has been made Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Finance. Hakim, who is also the Kolkata M cipal Corporation’s Mayor, and state Housing and Transport Minister, will hold the additional charge of urban development and m cipal affairs following the latest portfolio allocation. Hakim had shouldered the same ministry in the previous two governments headed by Banerjee since 2011. Minister Chandrima Bhattachary, who held the urban and m cipal affairs in the past ten months, was given the charge of finance, which was held by the chief minister. The allocation of the new portfolios was also approved by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, a Raj Bhavan comm que said. PC SSP