An environmentalist, river conservationist, writer, Member of Parliament and an amateur pilot - this is how Shri Anil Madhav Dave, the new Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, is known for his various roles in society.Born on July 6, 1956 in village Barnagar of Ujjain district in Madhya Pradesh,Shri Dave received his primary education in Gujarat. He did his Masters in Commerce with a specialisation in Rural Development & Management from Indore. He was a student leader during his college days.He is well-known for his work on river Narmada through an organisation ‘Narmada Samagra’ founded by him, which works on conservation of Narmada and its catchment area through various activities and events. He flew a Cessna 173 aircraft along the banks of Narmada for 18 hours to complete his circumambulation in air. He travelled and completed an insurmountable raft journey of 1312 km long river Narmada in 19 days.
He is the driving force behind the organisation of a biennial event ‘River Festival’. This festival is one of its kind, in entire Asia. It covers climate change and environmental issues, specially related to conservation of rivers across the globe.He has authored books on various subjects/areas like politics, administration, art & culture, travelogue, history, management, environment and climate changes. Some of his books are: “Shivaji & Suraaj; Creation to Cremation; rafting through a civilization: a travelogue; Shatabdi ke Paanch Kaale Panne; Sambhal Ke Rehna Apne Ghar Me Chhupe Hue Gaddaron Se; Mahanayak Chandrashekhar Azad; Roti Aur Kamal ki Kahani; Samagra Gram Vikas; Amarkantak se Amarkantak Tak ; Beyond Copenhagen; Yes I Can, So Can We”. Shri Anil Madhav Dave has initiated the programme for development of bio-toilets in every school of Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh. This programme was declared by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, during his speech on Independence Day in 2014 from Red Fort in Delhi. Through this project, 98000 students from 1880 schools in Hoshangabad district will have separate toilet facilities for boys and girls.Shri Dave has adopted “Jahanpur Panchayat” (cornerstone of a local self-government) having four villages under it (including Jahanpur) near the banks of river Narmada, which he has taken under ‘Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’for its overall and ideal development.
He has held several important positions. These include: Member, Standing Committee on Environment and Forest and Science & Technology; Member, Standing Committee of Water Resources; Member (Board of Governors) of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan; Nominated as Member of Indian Council for Cultural Relations; Chairman, Select Committee on Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013; Chairman, Select Committee on Coal Mines (Special Provision) Bill, 2015; Chairman, Select Committee on The Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Bill, 2015; vice President for the 10th World Hindi Conference held in Bhopal, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs; Chairman, Organising Committee for National Conference on “Global Warming & Climate Change – A Way Out” in the run-up to Simhasth Kumbh 2016; Chairman, Organising Committee for International Simhasth Summit 2016 “Vichar Mahakumbh”; Member of Select Committee on the Payment and Settlement Systems; Committee on Public Accounts; and member of Select Committee on ‘Wakf Board’. He has attended conferences on environment and climate change organised by UNFCCC in various parts of the world. He has also participated in seminars and conferences on counter-terrorism held every year in Israel. He has extensively travelled in different parts of the United States of America, Europe and southern parts of Africa.