Three newly appointed ministers in the Lumbini provincial government have taken the oath of office and secrecy.
On the recommendation of Chief Minister Chet Narayan Acharya, Province Chief Krishna Bahadur Gharti Magar administered the oath to the ministers at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
During a ceremony held at the Office of the Province Chief in Butwal, Dipendra Kumar Pun was sworn in as health minister, Indrajeet Tharu as minister for economic affairs and planning, and Krishna Kusma Tharu as minister for agriculture, land management, and cooperatives.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Acharya, former chief minister Jokh Bahadur Mahara, Speaker Tularam Gharti Magar, and Deputy Speaker Menuka Khand KC, among others.
Province Chief Gharti Magar had reshuffled the existing Cabinet on Monday on the recommendation of Chief Minister Acharya, in accordance with Article 168(9) of the Constitution of Nepal.
As part of the reshuffle, Tulsi Prasad Chaudhary has been assigned the Ministry of Forests, Environment, and Tourism; Ramji Prasad Ghimire the Ministry of Social Development; Santosh Kumar Pandeya the Ministry of Urban Development, Energy, Irrigation, and Water Supply; Ratna Bahadur Khatri the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development; and Bhandari Lal Ahir the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Law, Industry, and Transport.
Ghimire, who previously headed the Ministry of Health, has been given responsibility for the Ministry of Social Development.
Chaudhary, who was previously in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management, and Cooperatives, has been assigned the Ministry of Forests, Environment, and Tourism.
Similarly, Pandey, who previously headed the Ministry of Social Development, has been given responsibility for the Ministry of Urban Development, Energy, Irrigation, and Water Supply.
The Cabinet was reshuffled in line with an agreement under which the provincial government would have four ministers from the CPN-UML, including the chief minister, three from the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), and two from the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal.
Following political changes at the federal level, Nepali Congress ministers resigned from the Lumbini government, paving the way for power-sharing with the Nepali Communist Party.
The 83-member Lumbini Provincial Assembly has 29 lawmakers from the UML, 27 from the Nepali Congress, and 13 from the NCP. Similarly, there are five lawmakers from the JSP Nepal, four from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, three from the Janamat Party, one from the Rastriya Janamorcha, and one independent member.
