Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has formed a three-member committee to prune down ministries in the 12 states where the party is in power.

The deadline for the downsizing exercise is July 7, when  the 91st Constitutional Amendment comes into force. The amendment restricts the size of a ministry to 15 per cent of that state assembly's strength.

The same applies to the Union ministry too. The size of the Lok Sabha decides the strength of the Union council of ministers.

The 12 state where the Congress is in power -- either alone or in a coalition -- are: Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

The three members of the Congress committee are Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni and Motilal Vora. They will be assisted by the party's general-secretary in-charge in each state.

Party sources indicated that MLAs who did well in the general election -- in terms of assisting the party's Lok Sabha candidate -- will be rewarded. "Figures are being collected from each assembly segment," the sources said.

The PCC chiefs in each state will also participate in the exercise.