Why India’s new environment minister is sparking some cheer

In the largest cabinet reshuffle in seven years of his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed 12 ministers the door on Wednesday. One of them is Prakash Javadekar, the environment minister whose two-year long tenure was marked by controversies over faster clearances to industrial projects, legislations that critics said diluted India’s environmental regulations, and rising friction with the youth climate change movements.

His exit came as a surprise to many observers, who believed his decisions reflected the priorities set by the Prime Minister’s Office.

What caused further stir in environmental circles was the choice of his successor: Bhupender Yadav, a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan, a lawyer who is known to be well-versed in environmental matters.

Yadav has co-authored a book titled Super Court on Forest Conservation with Ritwick Dutta, one of the most prominent environmental lawyers in the country. Published in 2011, the book examines how the Supreme Court handled matters related to India’s forest governance regime.

On the prickly issue of encroachments within National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, Yadav and Dutta note: “Lack of political will…has been identified by almost all the states as one of the important reasons for the inability of the states to take effective steps for the removal of encroachments. Influential persons with political affiliations not…

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