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Thakur made Forest Minister

By Our Staff Correspondent

SHIMLA, AUG 4. In another reallocation of portfolios today, the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, made one of his close confidants, Ram Lal Thakur, the new Forest Minister. Until yesterday the Chief Minister had kept the all-important department of forests with him and had given the portfolio of Health to Mr. Thakur.

Mr. Thakur, who was the Health Minister during the last tenure of Virbhadra Singh, was reportedly not interested with the Health portfolio. The Congress had to face many embarrassing situations in the House due to the inept handling of the department and the BJP in the last five years in the Government raised a number of controversial issues of the department.

According to the opposition, the Chief Minister by not keeping the Forest portfolio himself has attempted to remain out of controversy since a number of forest cases were filed against him by the previous BJP Government. The Chief Minister had even taken a bail in the controversial Sagar Katha Case. He was accused of allotting Khair wood to a firm in violation of rules and the Vigilance Department had filed a challan under sections 120-B, 218, 409, 465 and 471 of the IPC.

The two- third area of Himachal is under forests and the department remains in focus due to large- scale encroachments and illegal felling of trees by the forest mafia.

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