NEW DELHI: Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar was Tuesday elevated to cabinet rank, a reward for bringing reforms in the green ministry which during UPA regime was projected as a road block ministry by the industry. He is a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh.
Javadekar, 65, was in Berlin attending the Petersberg Climate Dialogue (PCD) and was called back overnight. After taking over as minister in May 2014, Javadekar on the very first day has announced to make all the clearances online to bring transparency and fix responsibility of officials delaying project files.
Under Javadekar, the Ministry of Environment and Forests claimed that the time required for project clearances has been brought down to 192 days from 600 days and it is expected to further drop to 100 days in coming months. Industry has hailed him for taking quick decisions which resulted in ease of business.
Other key decisions taken by him include starting online pollution monitoring of industry along Ganga and making state minister’s panel to check air pollution in National capital region. He led India at the Paris Climate meet last year and ensured that concerns of developing nations like climate justice and historic responsibility become part of the agreement.
He was earlier stripped of the charge of two key departments of Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs as a Minister of State.
Former bankers, Javadekar led the students’ movements under the AkhilBharatiyaVidyarthiParishad (ABVP), the student wing of BJP. He organised Satyagraha against the emergency rule and was imprisoned for 16 months.
He was elected to Maharashtra Legislative Council twice between 1990 and 2002 before being first elected to Rajya Sabha in 2008.
