Ministry of Environment and Forests (India)

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is an Indian government ministry. The Minister of Environment and Forests holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Jayanthi Natarajan, Union Minister of Environment and Forests, who is assisted by two Ministers of State.

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 national parks of India.

The Civil Services (Indian Forest Service) is under the administration and supervision of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

History

Indira Gandhi's prime-ministership (1966 – 1977 and 1980 – 1984) introduced environmental debates into the national political agenda. The 4th Five Year Plan (1969-74), for example, proclaimed “harmonious development [...] on the basis of a comprehensive appraisal of environmental issues.” In 1976 (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.

Organization

• Subordinate offices
  • Andaman & Nicobar Islands Forest and Plantation Development Corporation (Public Sector Undertaking)
  • Animal Welfare Board of India
  • Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Kolkata
  • Central Pollution Control Board
  • Central Zoo Authority
  • Directorate of Forest Education (DFE), Dehradun
  • Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun
  • Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun
  • National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board
  • National Biodiversity Authority
  • National Board of Wildlife
  • National Ganga River Basin Authority
  • National Institute of Animal Welfare
  • National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), New Delhi
  • National Tiger Conservation Authority
  • National Zoological Park (NZP), New Delhi
  • Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata

• Autonomous institutions
  • Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi
  • Central Zoo Authority (CZA), New Delhi
  • G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Almora
  • Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun
    • Arid Forestry Research Institute (AFRI), Jodhpur
    • Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun
      • Centre for Forestry Research and Human Resource Development (CFRHRD), Chhindwara
    • Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore
    • Tropical Forest Research Institute (TFRI), Jabalpur
      • Centre for Social Forestry and Eco-habilitation (CSFE), Allahabad
    • Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun

List of environment ministers of India

Period	Minister
2011-current	Jayanthi Natarajan
2009-2011	Jairam Ramesh

See also

• Awaaz Foundation - Conservation and environmental NGO
• A Pledge for Clean and Green India

External links

• Official website
• Resources on Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)

It has some influence on agricultural ministry of India