Panaji: Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar, who was inducted into the cabinet on Saturday, has been assigned the portfolios of agriculture, civil supplies and consumer affairs, and handicrafts, textiles and coir. The allocation was made through an order issued on Diwali day.Amonkar has taken over the same departments previously handled by Ponda MLA Ravi Naik, who passed away in Oct last year. His induction fills the cabinet vacancy created by Naik’s demise. On Monday, Amonkar said he will officially take charge as minister on Thursday at 11am.Even before assuming office formally, Amonkar held his first meeting with agriculture officials on Monday afternoon to familiarise himself with issues affecting the state’s farmers.“When the order came allotting the portfolios to me, I felt the need to urgently begin work. So I decided to call a review meeting. I want to understand in detail the situation of our farmers. I have served as chairperson of the horticulture corporation before, so issues related to farmers are not new to me,” Amonkar said.Following Naik’s death, the portfolios of agriculture, civil supplies and consumer affairs, and handicrafts, textiles and coir were held for a year by chief minister Pramod Sawant.Amonkar said his priorities would include protecting agricultural land and increasing govt support to farmers. He also said he would seek an appointment with the Union agriculture minister to request additional aid for Goan farmers dealing with the impact of deficit rainfall this year.Amonkar’s tenure is expected to be brief, with assembly elections scheduled around Feb 2027. He won the 2022 election as a Congress candidate but later joined BJP along with seven other MLAs. He is the third from that group to be inducted into the cabinet: Alexio Sequeira was inducted in 2023, and after Sequeira stepped down due to health issues, Digambar Kamat joined the cabinet.
