Ministry_of_Environment_and_Forests_(India)

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Ministry of the Government of India

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]

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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; Indian Himalayan Environment and its sustainable development;afforestation, and land degradation mitigation. It is responsible for the administration of the national parks of India.

Prakash Javadekar meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry at COP21 in Paris.

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

  • Note:
    • MoS, I/C – Minister of State (Independent Charge)
    • † Died in office
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Ministers of State

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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.

References

  1. [1]
    "Contact Us | Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Government of India". Moef.gov.in. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  2. [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. [3]
    "Following Anil Daves death, Dr Harsh Vardhan gets additional charge of environment". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  4. [4]
    Sanjeev Khagram (2004) "Dams and Development", New York, Cornell University Press, ISBN 978-0-8014-8907-5
  5. [5]
    "Ministry of environment and forests undergoes a nomenclature change". The Economic Times. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. [6]
    Jhala, Yadvendradev Vikramsinh; Qureshi, Qamar; Nayak, Anup Kumar, eds. (July 2020). Status of tigers, copredators and prey in India, 2018 (First ed.). National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India, New Delhi, and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. ISBN 8185496501.
  7. [7]
    "About ENVIS".
  8. [8]
    "Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute | Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Government of India". Envfor.nic.in. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  9. [9]
    "Comments called for on the Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy Released". Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  10. [10]
    "EU-India joint declaration on resource efficiency and circular economy(PDF)". Consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
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