Mumbai, Sep 24 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday appointed guardian ministers of districts in the state, with his deputy and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis getting charge of several areas of Vidarbha.

Also Read | Karnataka To Amend Rules To Ban Confiscation of Farmers' Property by Banks, Says CM Basavaraj Bommai.

Fadnavis will be guardian minister of Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Akola, Bhandara and Gadchiroli.

Also Read | Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Slams Opposition, Says 'Rival Political Leaders Chronic Liars'.

School education minister Deepak Kesarkar will be guardian minister of Mumbai city and Kolhapur. while the metropolis' suburban district will be under the charge of tourism minister Mangalprabhat Lodha.

As per the CM's announcement, revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil will be guardian minister of Ahmednagar and Solapur, forest minister Sudhir Mungatiwa of Chandrapur and Gondia, higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil of Pune and tribal welfare minister Vijaykumar Gavit of Nandurbar.

Rural development minister Girish Mahajan will be guardian minister of Dhule, Latur and Nanded, water supply minister Gulabrao Patil will take care of Buldhana and Jalgaon, ports minister Dada Bhuse of Nashik and FDA minister Sanjay Rathod will handle Yavatmal and Washim.

Cooperation minister Atul Save will handle Jalna and Beed, excise minister Sambhuraj Desai will take charge of Satara and Thane, labour minister Suresh Khade will be guardian minister of Sangli, EGS minister Sandipan Bhumre of Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar), and health minister Tanaji Sawant of Parbhani and Osmanabad (Dharashiv).

PWD minister Ravindra Chavan will be guardian minister of Palghar and Sindhudurg, while agriculture minister Abdul Sattar will handle Hingoli.

There are 20 ministers in the Eknath Shinde government, including the chief minister and deputy chief minister, while it can have a maximum of 43 ministers.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)