Union Cabinet condoles Anil Dave's demise

New Delhi [India], May 18 (ANI): The Union Cabinet has expressed profound sorrow at the sad demise of Anil Madhav Dave, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change at New Delhi, today. In a resolution passed at a special Cabinet Meeting, the Cabinet noted that in his passing away, the country has lost a veteran and distinguished leader who held many eminent positions as a Member of Parliament and as Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The Cabinet met under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and extended its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family on behalf of the Government and the entire nation. "Shri Anil Madhav Dave was born on 6th July 1956 at Barnagar, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. He got his M.Com degree from Gujrati College, Indore, specializing in Rural Development and Management," the resolution reads. Asserting that Dave was a river conservationist, environmentalist and social worker, a prolific writer, authoring several books in Hindi and English, the resolution said he was the founder of Jan Abhiyan Parishad and also edited the monthly magazine "Charaiveti" and JAP, Jan Abhiyan Parishad Journal. "He was also a trained pilot, who flew a Cessna 173 aircraft over river Narmada from the source to mouth, and also completed a 1312 km. raft journey along the entire length of the river. He also organized the staging of a play on Chhatrapati Shivaji, "Janata Raja" which has been staged 1000 times, including a performance at Wembley, London," it added. It further said that Dave was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2009 and has been on various Committees of Parliament including the Committee on Water Resources and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. "He was also a Member of the Parliamentary Forum on Global Warming and Climate Change. He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2016 and became the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change," it added. Asserting that Dave was a true social worker widely known for his empathy for the poor and under-privileged, the resolution said as an environmentalist, he worked tirelessly for conservation of conservation of Narmada river. "He was a true nationalist and handled his public responsibilities with politeness and grace. In his passing away, the nation has lost an eminent leader from Madhya Pradesh," it added.(ANI)