Dehra Dun (PTI): Nearly a week after being sworn-in as the Chief minister, Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank has allocated portfolios among his cabinet colleagues but retained most of the key departments with himself.

Mr. Nishank, who allocated the portfolios last night, kept a total of 21 portfolios with himself, including home, personnel, power, PWD, Finance, Civil Aviation, Health, Sports, Information and IT, an official release said here.

Madan Kaushik was given the Excise, Tourism, Sugarcane, Urban development and Tourism departments, while Bishan Singh Chufal was allocated Forest and Environment and Wildlife portfolios.

Matbar Singh Kandari got irrigation, flood control and social welfare protfolios. All the three ministers were inducted in the ministry in the first phase.

Prakash Pant has got Parliamentary Affairs, Drinking Water, Planning and River water projects.

He held the key Tourism portfolio in the Khanduri government and was also a frontrunner for the top post in the hill state before losing out the race to Mr. Nishank last month.

Trivendra Singh Rawat, a close confidante of former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, will retain the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry departments. He has also been given Horticulture, Dairy Development and Fisheries departments.

Diwakar bhatt, who is the lone minister in Mr. Nishank cabinet from Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), an ally of BJP, will retain his food and civil supplies and revenue departments.

Panchayati Raj, Alternative Energy, Census and Jail departments have been given to Rajendra Singh Bhandari.

Vijaya Barthwal, who has been inducted as minister of state with Independent charge, would look after Rural Development, Women Empowerment and Child Development portfolios.

Another minister of state with Independent charge Govind Singh Bist has been entrusted with the responsibility of Primary and Secondary school education.

Khajan Das and Balwant Singh Bhoryal have been given the charge of disaster management and health respectively.