Kamat gets PWD portfolio, Tawadkar returns to sports and tribal welfare

Panaji: Seven days after they were sworn in as part of the Pramod Sawant cabinet, Margao MLA and former chief minister Digambar Kamat was announced as the new PWD minister on Ganesh Chaturthi, while Canacona MLA and former speaker Ramesh Tawadkar will hold the portfolios of art and culture, sports, and tribal welfare, the last two of which he has held previously.The notification also stated that Sanguem MLA and social welfare minister Subhash Phal Dessai will hold the newly-created portfolio of drinking water department, which has been bifurcated from the PWD. Kamat will oversee the Captain of Ports and legal metrology portfolios.The PWD ministry was with the CM since the resignation of Curchorem MLA Nilesh Cabral in Nov 2023 to make way for Nuvem MLA Aleixo Sequeira in the cabinet.

Although Sequeira was given charge of Cabral’s environment portfolio, the crucial PWD remained with Sawant.Now, even as Kamat takes over as the new PWD minister, the chief minister will continue to hold the environment portfolio.After the swearing in of Kamat and Tawadkar on Aug 21, Sawant said that their portfolios would be announced in two days, but the announcement finally came on Aug 27.With both Kamat and Tawadkar being senior and experienced ministers, it was expected that at least one major portfolio each would be allocated to them.

Previously, Kamat handled power, mines, finance, and personnel among other portfolios as minister and chief minister. Tawadkar managed the sports and tribal welfare ministries during his tenure in former CM Manohar Parrikar’s cabinet.This is the second reshuffle of the Sawant govt and comes around a year and a half before the 2027 assembly election.