Env minister Bhupender Yadav’s law expertise may help perform a balancing act

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Env minister Bhupender Yadav’s law expertise may help perform a balancing act

New Delhi: Several environmentalists and former bureaucrats are hopeful with BhupenderYadav’s appointment as the new environment minister.Yadav, a lawyer and former national secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party, is also called the “Committee Man” because he has chaired several parliamentary committees on critical issues, such as the RajyaSabha Select Committee on Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2015, etc. More importantly, he has co-authored a book with environmental lawyer RitwickDutta in 2011 on the legal aspects of forest conservation in India titled “Supreme Court on Forest Conservation.”

On Thursday afternoon, when he took charge of the environment ministry, some officials felt that he came across as a more approachable minister. Yadav first participated in a plantation drive and then met senior officials from the ministry for a briefing on ongoing projects and issues.“I will not be able to answer questions today. All I can say is that I am grateful that I have been selected for this responsibility,” he told the media. “He seems soft-spoken and more understanding of complex issues surrounding environment and climate change,” said a senior environment ministry official.

AnupNayak, former member secretary, national tiger conservation authority (NTCA) tweeted: “With the change in guard in the MoEFCC, let’s hope that the highhandedness and arrogance will give way to humility and rational decision-making benefitting forestry.”

“It’s good that a lawyer has taken charge of the ministry. The ministry was circumventing the parliamentary process through various office memorandums and orders. I really hope he addresses that first. Given his background in law, he can help improve the functioning of the ministry. He has been associated with various environmental movements and has taken up environmental cases so he knows the issues very well. He has chaired the highest number of parliamentary committees also,” said RitwickDutta. Yadav has, for example, taken up issues related to SethuSamudram project and Andaman and Nicobar in the SC, Dutta added.