Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.[3]

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Prakash Javadekar, the current Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Agency overview
Formed1985 (1985)
JurisdictionGovernment of India
HeadquartersIndira Paryavaran Bhavan, Jorbagh Road, New Delhi[1]
Annual budget₹3,100 crore (US$430 million) (2020-21 est.)[2]
Ministers responsible
Agency executives
  • C.K. Mishra, IAS, Secretary (EF&CC)
  • Sanjay Kumar IFS, , Director General of Forests and Special Secretary
Websitewww.moef.nic.in
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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; afforestation, and land degradation mitigation. It is responsible for the administration of the 1947 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]

Organisation

Ministers
Prakash Javadekar meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry at COP21 in Paris.
Period Minister
31 December 1984 – 22 October 1986 Rajiv Gandhi [8]
22 October 1986 – 14 February 1988 Bhajan Lal
14 February 1988 – 2 December 1989 Ziaur Rehman Ansari
(As MoS, Independent Charge
till 25 June 1988)
2 December 1989 – 23 April 1990 V. P. Singh
23 April 1990 – 10 November 1990 Nilamani Routray
10 November 1990 – 21 June 1991 Maneka Gandhi
(MoS, Independent Charge)
21 June 1991 – 15 September 1995 Kamal Nath
(MoS, Independent Charge)
15 September 1995 – 16 May 1996 Rajesh Pilot
(MoS, Independent Charge)
29 June 1996 – 21 February 1997 Jainarayan Prasad Nishad
21 February 1997 – 19 March 1998 Saifuddin Soz
19 March 1998 – 13 October 1999 Suresh Prabhu
13 October 1999 – 21 December 2003 T. R. Baalu
21 December 2003 – 9 January 2004 Atal Bihari Vajpayee
9 January 2004 – 22 May 2004 Ramesh Bias
(MoS, Independent Charge)
23 May 2004 – 15 May 2007 A. Raja
15 May 2007 – 28 May 2009 Manmohan Singh
28 May 2009 – 12 July 2011 Jairam Ramesh
(MoS, Independent Charge)
12 July 2011 – 21 December 2013 Jayanthi Natarajan
(MoS, Independent Charge)
21 December 2013 – 26 May 2014 M. Veerappa Moily
26 May 2014 – 5 July 2016 Prakash Javadekar
(MoS, Independent Charge)
5 July 2016 – 18 May 2017 Anil Madhav Dave
(MoS, Independent Charge)
18 May 2017 - 24 May 2019 Dr. Harsh Vardhan[3]
31 May 2019 Prakash Javadekar

Ministers of State

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]

References
  1. "Contact Us | Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Government of India". Moef.gov.in. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  2. "MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE DEMAND NO. 27 : Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change" (web). Indiabudget.gov.in. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  3. "Following Anil Daves death, Dr Harsh Vardhan gets additional charge of environment". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  4. Sanjeev Khagram (2004) "Dams and Development", New York, Cornell University Press, ISBN 978-0-8014-8907-5
  5. "Ministry of environment and forests undergoes a nomenclature change". The Economic Times. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. "About ENVIS".
  7. "Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute | Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Government of India". Envfor.nic.in. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  8. "Council of Ministers" (PDF).
  9. "Comments called for on the Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy Released". Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  10. "EU-India joint declaration on resource efficiency and circular economy(PDF)". Consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
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