Bengaluru, Aug 12: Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader has reportedly been given the additional charge of the Minority Welfare, Haj and Waqf Departments as the process of allocating portfolios to ministers in the D.K. Shivakumar-led Karnataka Cabinet gathers pace.

Khader, who had taken oath as a minister in the first phase of the new Cabinet, was subsequently assigned the Health and Family Welfare portfolio. He has now been entrusted with the additional responsibility of overseeing departments dealing with minority welfare, Haj affairs and Waqf matters.

A seasoned leader from coastal Karnataka, Khader has previously served as Health Minister and also made his mark during his tenure as Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

The allocation comes amid efforts to finalise the distribution of portfolios among the newly inducted ministers in the Cabinet. An official government notification confirming the additional charge is, however, still awaited.