Blunder? Punjab govt took nearly 2 years to realise minister held non-existent department

A recent notification from the AAP-led Punjab government suggests it took more than 20 months (nearly two year) to realise that a department assigned to one of its ministers did not exist. The notification, issued on February 21, confirmed that the Department of Administrative Reforms, given to Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, was non-existent. As a result, Dhaliwal now holds charge of only the NRI Affairs Department.

The Punjab Governor, on the Chief Minister’s advice, has now corrected the earlier portfolio allocation, effective from February 7, 2025.

How did this happen?
Dhaliwal was initially in charge of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, but he lost that portfolio in May 2023 during a Cabinet reshuffle. However, he continued as Minister for NRI Affairs and was also assigned the Administrative Reforms Department. In the September 2024 Cabinet reshuffle, he retained both departments, but it has now been confirmed that one of them never actually existed.

Government sources revealed that the Administrative Reforms Department had no staff, no meetings, and no programmes. Officials admitted that the department was redundant and existed only on paper.

What does this mean for Dhaliwal?
With the department being scrapped, Dhaliwal is now left with only the NRI Affairs portfolio. He has been in the news recently, especially after the US deported illegal migrants to Amritsar on February 5, followed by more deportations.

An official explained that while the Department of Good Governance and Information Technology looks after governance improvements through IT, the Administrative Reforms Department could have helped improve bureaucratic services. However, since it never functioned, it made little difference.

Will Dhaliwal get another department?
It may be noted that Dhaliwal is one of the senior-most ministers in the Punjab Cabinet. It is unclear whether Dhaliwal will be given another ministry. The last Cabinet reshuffle in September 2024 saw four ministers removed and five new ministers inducted. The Punjab Cabinet currently has 16 ministers, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, while the maximum limit is 18.