Kaushik Rai inducted into Cabinet, given charge of newly formed Barak Valley Development Department.
The reshuffle of Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma Cabinet Monday brought into focus Assam’s Bengali-majority Barak Valley, with newly-inducted minister Kaushik Rai being allocated charge of a newly formed Barak Valley Development Department.
The Assam Cabinet was reshuffled after an expansion last week with the induction of four BJP MLAs as ministers. The decision to create a new department called Barak Valley Department had been announced Sunday. As part of the portfolio allocation, Kaushik Rai, who represents the Lakhipur constituency in the Barak Valley, has been allocated the department, along with the departments of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, and Mines and Minerals.
“Assam has been divided into two parts, the Brahmaputra Valley and the Barak Valley and there has always been less development in the Barak Valley. There is not even direct road transport between both the parts and travelling by road requires going through Meghalaya. Under the current government, a lot of projects have been undertaken there and this department has been created in the style of the Union government’s DONER [Development of North Eastern Region] department for coordination in the implementation of projects by all departments. In the new budget, there will also be separate allocation for this department,” he said.
