The Himachal Pradesh Council of Ministers is the executive wing of Government of Himachal Pradesh and headed by Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, who is the head of government and leader of the state cabinet. The term of every executive wing is for 5 years. The council of ministers are assisted by department secretaries attached to each ministry who are from IAS Himachal Pradesh Cadre. The chief executive officer responsible for issuing orders on behalf of government is Chief Secretary to the state government.

Constitutional requirement

For the Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor

According to Article 163 of the Indian Constitution,

# There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his function, except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.

  1. If any question arises whether any matter is or is not a matter as respects which the Governor is by or under this Constitution required to act in his discretion, the decision of the Governor in his discretion shall be final, and the validity of anything done by the Governor shall not be called in question on the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted in his discretion.
  2. The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by Ministers to the Governor shall not be inquired into in any court.

This means that the Ministers serve under the pleasure of the Governor and he/she may remove them, on the advice of the Chief Minister, whenever they want.

For other provisions as to Ministers

According to Article 164 of the Indian Constitution,

# The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister, and the Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor:
Provided that in the States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, there shall be a Minister in charge of tribal welfare who may in addition be in charge of the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and backward classes or any other work.

  1. The Council of Minister shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State.
  2. Before a Minister enters upon his office, the Governor shall administer to him the oaths of office and of secrecy according to the forms set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule.
  3. A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the Legislature of the State shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister.
  4. The salaries and allowances of Ministers shall be such as the Legislature of the State may from time to time by law determine and, until the Legislature of the State so determines, shall be a specified in the Second Schedule.

Council of Ministers

S.No Name Constituency Department Party
1. Aktar khan
Chief Minister		 Seraj
  • Home.
  • Finance.
  • General Administration.
  • Planning.
  • Personnel.
  • Public Works.
  • Tourism
  • Excise.
  • Taxation.
  • Other departments not allocated to any Minister.
 [[ Congress Congress
Cabinet Ministers
2. Mahender Singh Dharampur
  • Jal Shakti.
  • Revenue.
  • Horticulture.
  • Sainik Welfare.
 BJP
3. Suresh Bharadwaj Shimla
  • Urban Development.
  • Town & Country Planning.
  • Housing.
  • Parliamentary Affairs.
  • Law and Legal Remembrancer.
  • Cooperation.
 BJP
4. Sarveen Chaudhary Shahpur
  • Social Justice.
  • Empowerment.
 BJP
5. Ram Lal Markanda Lahaul and Spiti
  • Technical Education.
  • Vocational & Industrial Training.
  • Tribal Development.
  • Information Technology.
  • Redressal of Public Grievance.
 BJP
6. Virender Kanwar Kutlehar
  • Agriculture.
  • Rural Development.
  • Panchayati Raj.
  • Animal Husbandry.
  • Fisheries.
 BJP
7. Bikram Singh Jaswan-Pragpur
  • Transport.
  • Industries.
  • Labour & Employment.
 BJP
8. Govind Singh Thakur Manali
  • Forest.
  • Transport.
  • Youth Services and Sports.
 BJP
9. Rajiv Saizal Kasauli
  • Higher Education.
  • Elementary Education.
  • Language art and Culture.
 BJP
10. Rakesh Pathania Nurpur
  • Forest.
  • Youth Services and Sports.
 BJP
11. Sukh Ram Chaudhary Paonta Sahib
  • MPP and Power.
  • Non Conventional Energy Sources.
 BJP
12. Rajinder Garg Ghumarwin
  • Food.
  • Civil Supplies & Consumer Affair.
  • Printing and Stationery.
 BJP

Former Ministers

SI No. Name Constituency Department Tenure Party Reason
1. Anil Sharma Mandi
  • Multi Purpose Projects.
  • Power.
  • Non Conventional Energy Sources.
 December 2017 - April 2019 BJP Resigned[1]
2. Kishan Kapoor Dharamshala
  • Food & Civil Supplies.
  • Consumer Affairs.
  • Election.
 December 2017 - May 2019 BJP Elected to the 17th Lok Sabha
3. Vipin Singh Parmar Sullah
  • Health and Family Welfare.
  • Medical Education.
  • Ayurveda.
  • Science and Technology.
 December 2017 - February 2020 BJP Elected as the Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  • 29 July 2020:Three New Cabinet Ministers Inducted
  • 1 August 2020:Portfolios Have Been Reshuffled[2]

References

  1. ↑ Anil Sharma quits BJP cabinet in Himachal Pradesh
  2. ↑ "Himachal Pradesh CM reshuffles Cabinet, allocates portfolios to new Ministers". August 2020.
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