| Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change | |
| Seal: | Government of India logo.svg |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of India |
| Headquarters: | Indira Paryavaran Bhavan, Jorbagh Road, New Delhi[1] |
| Budget: | (2021–22 est.)[2] |
| Minister1 Name: | Bhupender Yadav |
| Minister1 Pfo: | Cabinet Minister |
| Minister2 Name: | Kirti Vardhan Singh |
| Minister2 Pfo: | Minister of State |
| Chief1 Name: | Leena Nandan, IAS |
| Chief1 Position: | Secretary (EF&CC) |
| Chief2 Name: | Jitender Kumar, IFS |
| Chief2 Position: | Director General of Forests and Special Secretary |
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.[3]
The ministry is responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating, and overseeing the implementation of environmental and forestry programmes in the country. The main activities undertaken by the ministry include conservation and survey of the flora of India and fauna of India, forests and other wilderness areas; prevention and control of pollution; Indian Himalayan Environment and its sustainable development;afforestation, and land degradation mitigation. It is responsible for the administration of the national parks of India.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the cadre controlling authority of the Indian Forest Service (IFS), one of the three All India Services.
Environmental debates were first introduced into the national political agenda during Indira Gandhi's first term as Prime Minister of India. The 4th Five-Year Plan (1969–74), for example, proclaimed "harmonious development [...] on the basis of a comprehensive appraisal of environmental issues." In 1977 (during the Emergency) Gandhi added Article 48A to the constitution stating that: "The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country." The same decree transferred wildlife and forests from state list to concurrent list of the constitution, thus giving the central government the power to overrule state decisions on that matter. Such political and constitutional changes prepared the groundwork for the creation of a federal Department of Environment in 1980, turned into the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1985.[4] Although tackling climate change was already a responsibility of the ministry, its priority was raised when in May 2014 the ministry was renamed to the current title of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.[5]
The forest administration is based on demarcation of states into Forest Divisions which consists of Forest Ranges. Forest Beats under Ranges are the smallest unit of administration hierarchy. Natural features on the field form the boundaries of each beat which has an average area of around 16 km square.[6]
| Portrait | Minister | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Period | ||||||||
| Minister of Environment and Forests | ||||||||||
| 1 | Rajiv Gandhi (Prime Minister) | 31 December 1984 | 22 October 1986 | Indian National Congress (I) | Rajiv II | Rajiv Gandhi | ||||
| 2 | Bhajan Lal | 22 October 1986 | 14 February 1988 | |||||||
| 3 | Ziaur Rahman Ansari (MoS, I/C until 25 June 1988) | 14 February 1988 | 2 December 1989 | |||||||
| Vishwanath Pratap Singh (Prime Minister) | 2 December 1989 | 23 April 1990 | Janata Dal | Vishwanath | Vishwanath Pratap Singh | |||||
| 4 | Nilamani Routray | 23 April 1990 | 10 November 1990 | |||||||
| 5 | Maneka Gandhi (MoS, I/C) | 10 November 1990 | 21 June 1991 | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | Chandra Shekhar | Chandra Shekhar | ||||
| 6 | Kamal Nath (MoS, I/C) | 21 June 1991 | 15 September 1995 | Indian National Congress (I) | Rao | P. V. Narasimha Rao | ||||
| 7 | Rajesh Pilot (MoS, I/C) | 15 September 1995 | 16 May 1996 | |||||||
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Prime Minister) | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee I | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |||||
| H. D. Deve Gowda (Prime Minister) | 1 June 1996 | 29 June 1996 | Janata Dal | Deve Gowda | H. D. Deve Gowda | |||||
| 8 | Jai Narain Prasad Nishad (MoS, I/C) | 29 June 1996 | 21 February 1997 | |||||||
| 9 | Saifuddin Soz | 21 February 1997 | 21 April 1997 | Jammu and Kashmir National Conference | ||||||
| 21 April 1997 | 19 March 1998 | Gujral | Inder Kumar Gujral | |||||||
| 10 | Suresh Prabhu | 19 March 1998 | 13 October 1999 | Shiv Sena | Vajpayee II | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | ||||
| 11 | T. R. Baalu | 13 October 1999 | 21 December 2003 | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | Vajpayee III | |||||
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Prime Minister) | 21 December 2003 | 9 January 2004 | Bharatiya Janata Party | |||||||
| 12 | Ramesh Bais (MoS, I/C) | 9 January 2004 | 22 May 2004 | |||||||
| 13 | A. Raja | 23 May 2004 | 15 May 2007 | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh | ||||
| Manmohan Singh (Prime Minister) | 15 May 2007 | 22 May 2009 | Indian National Congress | |||||||
| 14 | Jairam Ramesh (MoS, I/C) | 22 May 2009 | 12 July 2011 | Manmohan II | ||||||
| 15 | Jayanthi Natarajan (MoS, I/C) | 12 July 2011 | 21 December 2013 | |||||||
| 16 | Veerappa Moily | 21 December 2013 | 26 May 2014 | |||||||
| Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change | ||||||||||
| 17 | Prakash Javadekar (MoS, I/C) | 26 May 2014 | 5 July 2016 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | Narendra Modi | ||||
| 18 | Anil Madhav Dave (MoS, I/C) | 5 July 2016 | 18 May 2017 | |||||||
| 19 | Harsh Vardhan | 18 May 2017 | 30 May 2019 | |||||||
| (17) | Prakash Javadekar | 31 May 2019 | 7 July 2021 | Modi II | ||||||
| 20 | Bhupender Yadav | 7 July 2021 | 9 June 2024 | |||||||
| 10 June 2024 | Incumbent | Modi III | ||||||||
| Portrait | Minister | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Period | ||||||||
| Minister of State for Environment and Forests | ||||||||||
| 1 | Vir Sen | 31 December 1984 | 25 September 1985 | Indian National Congress (I) | Rajiv II | Rajiv Gandhi | ||||
| 2 | Ziaur Rahman Ansari | 25 September 1985 | 14 February 1988 | |||||||
| 3 | Sumati Oraon | 4 July 1989 | 2 December 1989 | |||||||
| 4 | Maneka Gandhi | 6 December 1989 | 6 November 1990 | Janata Dal | Vishwanath | Vishwanath Pratap Singh | ||||
| 5 | Jai Narain Prasad Nishad | 1 June 1996 | 29 June 1996 | Janata Dal | Deve Gowda | H. D. Deve Gowda | ||||
| 6 | Babulal Marandi | 19 March 1998 | 13 October 1999 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee II | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | ||||
| 13 October 1999 | 7 November 2000 | Vajpayee III | ||||||||
| 7 | Dilip Singh Judeo | 29 January 2003 | 17 November 2003 | |||||||
| 8 | Namo Narain Meena | 23 May 2004 | 22 May 2009 | Indian National Congress | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh | ||||
| 9 | S. Regupathy | 15 May 2007 | 22 May 2009 | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | ||||||
| Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change | ||||||||||
| 10 | Mahesh Sharma | 3 September 2017 | 30 May 2019 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | Narendra Modi | ||||
| 11 | Babul Supriyo | 31 May 2019 | 7 July 2021 | Modi II | ||||||
| 12 | Ashwini Kumar Choubey | 7 July 2021 | 10 June 2024 | |||||||
| 13 | Kirti Vardhan Singh | 10 June 2024 | Incumbent | Modi III | ||||||
In August 2019 Ministry of Environment released the Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy. It is a set of guidelines which envisions a future with environmentally sustainable and equitable economic growth. The policy is guided by principle of reduction in primary resource consumption; creation of higher value with less material through resource efficient circular approach; waste minimization; material security and creation of employment opportunities and business model beneficial to cause of environment protection and restoration. It was based on the report of NITI Aayog and European Union titled, The strategy on resource efficiency. The policy seeks to set up a National Resource Efficiency Authority with core working group housed in the Ministry. It also plans to offer tax benefits on recycled materials and soft loans to set up waste disposal and material recovery facilities.[9] [10]
As of 8 December 2021, some states have received more than Rupees 47,000 crore for afforestation. The states are directed to channel this amount as compensatory afforestation which shall be used for plantations, assisted natural forest regeneration, forest fire-prevention, pest and disease control in forest, and expedite soil and moisture conservation works.