Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change explained

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.

History

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]

Administration

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]

Organisation

Cabinet Ministers

PortraitMinister
Term of officePolitical partyMinistryPrime Minister
FromToPeriod
Minister of Environment and Forests
1Rajiv Gandhi

(Prime Minister)
31 December
1984
22 October
1986
Indian National Congress (I)Rajiv IIRajiv Gandhi
2Bhajan Lal
22 October
1986
14 February
1988
3Ziaur 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 DalVishwanathVishwanath Pratap Singh
4Nilamani Routray
23 April
1990
10 November
1990
5Maneka Gandhi

(MoS, I/C)
10 November
1990
21 June
1991
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)Chandra ShekharChandra Shekhar
6Kamal Nath

(MoS, I/C)
21 June
1991
15 September
1995
Indian National Congress (I)RaoP. V. Narasimha Rao
7Rajesh Pilot

(MoS, I/C)
15 September
1995
16 May
1996
Atal Bihari Vajpayee

(Prime Minister)
16 May
1996
1 June
1996
Bharatiya Janata PartyVajpayee IAtal Bihari Vajpayee
H. D. Deve Gowda

(Prime Minister)
1 June
1996
29 June
1996
Janata DalDeve GowdaH. D. Deve Gowda
8Jai Narain Prasad Nishad

(MoS, I/C)
29 June
1996
21 February
1997
9Saifuddin Soz
21 February
1997
21 April
1997
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference
21 April
1997
19 March
1998
GujralInder Kumar Gujral
10Suresh Prabhu
19 March
1998
13 October
1999
Shiv SenaVajpayee IIAtal Bihari Vajpayee
11T. R. Baalu
13 October
1999
21 December
2003
Dravida Munnetra KazhagamVajpayee III
Atal Bihari Vajpayee

(Prime Minister)
21 December
2003
9 January
2004
Bharatiya Janata Party
12Ramesh Bais

(MoS, I/C)
9 January
2004
22 May
2004
13A. Raja
23 May
2004
15 May
2007
Dravida Munnetra KazhagamManmohan IManmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh

(Prime Minister)
15 May
2007
22 May
2009
Indian National Congress
14Jairam Ramesh

(MoS, I/C)
22 May
2009
12 July
2011
Manmohan II
15Jayanthi Natarajan

(MoS, I/C)
12 July
2011
21 December
2013
16Veerappa Moily
21 December
2013
26 May
2014
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
17Prakash Javadekar

(MoS, I/C)
26 May
2014
5 July
2016
Bharatiya Janata PartyModi INarendra Modi
18Anil Madhav Dave

(MoS, I/C)
5 July
2016
18 May
2017
19Harsh Vardhan
18 May
2017
30 May
2019
(17)Prakash Javadekar
31 May
2019
7 July
2021
Modi II
20Bhupender Yadav
7 July
2021
9 June
2024
10 June
2024
IncumbentModi III

Ministers of State

PortraitMinister
Term of officePolitical partyMinistryPrime Minister
FromToPeriod
Minister of State for Environment and Forests
1Vir Sen
31 December
1984
25 September
1985
Indian National Congress (I)Rajiv IIRajiv Gandhi
2Ziaur Rahman Ansari
25 September
1985
14 February
1988
3Sumati Oraon
4 July
1989
2 December
1989
4Maneka Gandhi
6 December
1989
6 November
1990
Janata DalVishwanathVishwanath Pratap Singh
5Jai Narain Prasad Nishad
1 June
1996
29 June
1996
Janata DalDeve GowdaH. D. Deve Gowda
6Babulal Marandi
19 March
1998
13 October
1999
Bharatiya Janata PartyVajpayee IIAtal Bihari Vajpayee
13 October
1999
7 November
2000
Vajpayee III
7Dilip Singh Judeo
29 January
2003
17 November
2003
8Namo Narain Meena
23 May
2004
22 May
2009
Indian National CongressManmohan IManmohan Singh
9S. Regupathy
15 May
2007
22 May
2009
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change
10Mahesh Sharma
3 September
2017
30 May
2019
Bharatiya Janata PartyModi INarendra Modi
11Babul Supriyo
31 May
2019
7 July
2021
Modi II
12Ashwini Kumar Choubey
7 July
2021
10 June
2024
13Kirti Vardhan Singh
10 June
2024
IncumbentModi III

Initiatives

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.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Contact Us | Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Government of India . Moef.gov.in . 2015-07-31 . 2016-06-16.
  2. Web site: MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE DEMAND NO. 27 : Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. web. Indiabudget.gov.in. 16 August 2018.
  3. Web site: Following Anil Daves death, Dr Harsh Vardhan gets additional charge of environment. Indiatoday.intoday.in. 18 May 2017 . 16 August 2018.
  4. Sanjeev Khagram (2004) "Dams and Development", New York, Cornell University Press,
  5. Web site: Ministry of environment and forests undergoes a nomenclature change. The Economic Times. 4 December 2016. 28 May 2014.
  6. Book: Jhala . Yadvendradev Vikramsinh . Qureshi . Qamar . Nayak . Anup Kumar . Status of tigers, copredators and prey in India, 2018. . July 2020 . National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India, New Delhi, and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. . 978-8185496504 . First.
  7. Web site: About ENVIS .
  8. Web site: Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute | Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Government of India . Envfor.nic.in . 2016-06-16.
  9. Web site: Comments called for on the Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy Released. Press Information Bureau. 2020-09-10.
  10. Web site: EU-India joint declaration on resource efficiency and circular economy(PDF). Consilium.europa.eu. 2020-09-10.