Anil Madhav Dave did Narmada parikrama with Cessna -Governance Now

Anil Madhav Dave did Narmada parikrama with Cessna

Environment minister “was tremendously passionate towards conserving the environment”, says PM Modi

GN Bureau | May 18, 2017

#Narendra Modi #Narmada #environment #Anil Madhav Dave #river conservation

Environment minister Anil Madhav Dave passes away at 60 (Photo: PIB)

Anil Madhav Dave, the environment minister who passed away on Thursday, was a maverick in politics: he was an amateur pilot and once he did the parikrama, or circumambulation, of the Narmada river flying his Cessna 173 for 18 hours.

Dave was not keeping well for some time, and breathed his last at the AIIMS in Delhi on Thursday morning. He was 60.

Paying tributes to him, prime minister Narendra Modi said, “Absolutely shocked by the sudden demise of my friend and a very respected colleague, Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave ji. My condolences.” Modi noted that Dave “will be remembered as a devoted public servant. He was tremendously passionate towards conserving the environment.”

Modi said he was with Dave till late Wednesday evening, discussing key policy issues. “This demise is a personal loss”, the PM said.

Before taking charge of the environment ministry in the last cabinet reshuffle in July 2016, Dave was known for his work for the Narmada river conservation through Narmada Samagra, an organisation he founded. Apart from flying the aircraft along the banks of the Narmada to complete a circumambulation in air; he also completed a 1,312-kilometre journey by raft on the river in 19 days. His organisation holds a biennial ‘River Festival’, and covers the climate change and environmental issues.

Dave also authored numerous books on politics, administration, art and culture, travel, history, and environment, including ‘Srijan Se Visarjan Tak’, ‘Mahanayak Chandrashekhar Azad’, ‘Narmada Samagra’, ‘Samagra Gram Vikas’ (in Hindi) and ‘Creation to Cremation’, ‘Beyond Copenhagen’, and ‘Yes I can, so we can’, according to his member profile on the Rajya Sabha website.

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