MUZAFFARABAD, July 10: The AJK government has created three secretariat level departments, raising their number to 17.

According to a notification issued by the services and general administration department on Thursday, the departments have been created by amending Schedule I of the Rules of Business, 1985.

The education department has been bifurcated and now there will be separate secretaries for colleges and schools.

The agriculture, animal husbandry and food department has been separated from the forests and tourism department.

The departments were bro-ught under one secretary in January 2000 by the People’s Party government.

The government has also created a secretariat for tourism, information technology and information, which earlier fell under the secretaries of forests, education and services and general administration, respectively.

The allied wings of the tourism department — wildlife, fisheries and archaeology — have been retained with the forests secretariat.

According to the amended schedule, the 17 secretariat level departments are: agriculture, animal husbandry and food; Umoor-i-Dinia, Ushar and Zakat, Auqaf, social welfare and women’s affairs; Board of Revenue; communications and works; electricity; education (colleges); education (schools); finance, cooperatives, excise and taxation; forestry, wildlife, fisheries and archaeology; health; home; industries, labour and mineral resources; information, tourism and information technology; law, justice, parliamentary affairs and human rights; local government and rural development; planning and development; and services and general administration.

The previous government had reorganized 27 departments and brought them under the control of 14 secretaries in the light of recommendations of an ‘administrative reforms commission’ to curtail the administrative expenditures of Azad Kashmir.