Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has effected a "minor” reshuffle in his Cabinet taking charge of the water department from minister Saurabh Bhardwaj and giving it to his colleague Atishi, officials said.
The charge of Tourism, Art and Culture departments, handled so far by Atishi, will now be under the charge of Bhardwaj, they said.
The file related to the reshuffle was sent for approval of Lt Governor VK Saxena who has given his nod to it, they added.
In August, Bhardwaj was relieved of the charge of the Services and Vigilance departments within a day of passing of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 by Rajya Sabha. Both departments were handed over to Atishi, taking the number of her portfolios to 14.
Advertisement
Before that, Atishi was given charge of the Finance, Planning and Revenue departments in June. These departments were previously handled by another minister Kailash Gahlot.
There was no immediate reaction from the Delhi government over the reasons behind the changes in the portfolios of Bhardwaj and Atishi.
Both Bhardwaj and Atishi were inducted by Kejriwal in his Cabinet in March this year to replace Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia who were in jail at that time in cases registered against them by central probe agencies.
