Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (IGPP) (lit. Indira Gandhi Environment Award) is an environment award instituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests

Ministry of Environment and Forests

The Ministry of Environment and Forests is an Indian government ministry. The Minister of Environment and Forests holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers...

, Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

 in the year 1987, in order to encourage public participation in environment. It is awarded to individuals and organizations that have made significant and measurable contributions in the field of environment protection and improvement. The prize is presented every year on an occasion related to the environment.

History of the award

The award is named after the former Prime Minister of India

Prime Minister of India

The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...

, late Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...

. From 1987 to 1990, the award was presented either to an individual or an organization for their contributions. Since 1991, the award has been presented in two categories - one for individuals and another for organizations. Each award carried a cash prize of 100,000 rupees

Indian rupee

The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....

, a silver lotus trophy and a citation. In 2005, the governing body of the award revised the cash prize for the organisation category to 500,000 rupees. In the individual category, two cash prizes of 300,000 rupees and 200,000 rupees were instituted. Since 2009, for the individual category, three prizes of 500,000 rupees, 300,000 rupees and 200,000 rupees, each with a silver lotus trophy are awarded. For the organization category, two cash prizes of 500,000 rupees and a silver lotus trophy are awarded.

Award committee

The award committee has seven members: the Vice-President of India who is the Chairman of the committee, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Minister of Environment, three expert members (who are chosen from a panel of nine expert members), and the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Selection criteria

Any citizen of India or an Indian organisation engaged in scientific or field work in the protection of the environment is eligible; however, self nominations are not considered. The term environment is interpreted in a broad sense and can include areas such as pollution control, conservation of natural resources, creating awareness on environmental issues and for outstanding field work for the enrichment of the environment, such as afforestation. Criteria such as replicability of the work, innovativeness, target groups — such as women, rural populations and urban poor, impact of the programs in relation to the resources employed and the sustainability of the project are considered before a decision is taken on the award. If in the opinion of the committee, none of the applicants are deserving of the award, the prize may be withheld for that year.

List of award winners

The winners of the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar from 1987 to 2008 are as follows:

Year	Category	Awardee
1987	Organisation	Bombay Natural History Society Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society, founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants, and publishes the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Many... , Bombay
1988	Organisation	Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, Kerala Kerala or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
1989	Organisation	Samaj Parivartan Samudaya, Dharwad
1990	Individual	Shri Sant Kumar Bishnoi
1991	Individual	Shri S. P. Godrej
1991	Organisation	Dasholi Gram Swarajya Mandal Chandi Prasad Bhatt Chandi Prasad Bhatt is an Indian Gandhian environmentalist and social activist, who founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh in Gopeshwar in 1964, which later became a mother-organization to the Chipko Movement, in which he was one of the pioneers, and for which he has been awarded the Ramon... , Garhwal
1992	Individual	Dr. Shrivaram Karnath K., Dakshin Kannada Karnataka
1992	Organisation	127-Infantry Battalion (T.A), Ecological, Dehradun (U.P)
1993	Individual	Dr. T. N. Khoshoo, New Delhi
1993	Organisation	Young Mizo Association, Mizoram
1994	Individual	Smt. Radha Behn
1994	Organisation	Tarun Bharat Sangh Tarun Bharat Sangh Tarun Bharat Sangh is a non-governmental organization in Rajasthan. It is currently directed by Rajendra Singh, and both the organization and Singh are best known for doing ecological research and land development to provide clean water to people....
1995	Individual	Shri Natwarbhai Thakkar
1995	Organisation	Mechanised Infantry Regimental Centre, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
1996	Individual	Anupam Mishra Anupam Mishra Anupam Mishra is an Indian Gandhian and environmentalist, and water conservationist who works on promoting water conservation, water management and traditional rainwater harvesting techniques. He had been awarded the 1996 Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar award instituted by the Ministry of...
1996	Organisation	CPR Environmental Education Centre, No. I Eldams Road, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
1997	Individual	Shri J. C. Daniel
1997	Organisation	Centre for Environment Education, Nehru Foundation for Development, Gujarat
1998	Individual	Shri Jagdish Ranganath Gudbole
1998	Organisation	The Barefoot College Barefoot College Barefoot college known as Social Work and Research Centre is an Non-governmental organization founded by Bunker Roy in 1972. It is a solar-powered school that teaches illiterate women from impoverished villages to become doctors, solar engineers, architects, and other such professions. The school... , SWRC - Tilonia Tilonia Tilonia is a village in Ajmer district in Rajasthan, India.It is home of the NGO, Barefoot College founded by renowned social worker Bunker Roy. Since it was founded, this village has become a model for all remote villages for economic and social development.... , Madanganj, Ajmer, Rajasthan.
1999	Individual	Shri Piare Lal
1999	Organisation	The Ryan Foundation
2000	Individual	Dr. Ramesh Bedi
2000	Organisation	Captive Power Plant Division, National Aluminium Co. Ltd., Angul, Orissa
2001	Individual	Shri. Girish Gandhi
2001	Organisation	Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams also referred as TTD is an independent trust which manages the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh... , Tirupati
2002	Individual	Dr. K. M. Mathew
2002	Organisation	The Chilika Development Authority
2003	Individual	Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak Bindeshwar Pathak Bindheshwar Pathak is an Indian sociologist. He is the founder of Sulabh International, an India-based social service organization which works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education...
2003	Organisation	The Garhwal Rifles Garhwal Rifles The Garhwal Rifles is a light infantry or 'rifle' regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised as the 39th Garhwal Rifles of the Bengal Army, became part of the old Indian Army, and received its present name on Indian independence...  Regimental Centre, Lansdowne
2004	Individual	Ms. Jyotsna Sitling
2004	Organisation	Malayala Manorama Malayala Manorama Malayala Manorama is a daily news paper, in Malayalam language, published in the state of Kerala, India. It was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1890, and currently has a readership of over 16 million . The Malayalam word "manorama" roughly translates to "entertainer"...
2005	Organisation	Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Maharashtra
2005	Individual	Shri Jagdish Baba
2005	Individual	Dr. Amrita Patel
2006	Organisation	Bongai Gaon Refinery (IOC), Chirang, Assam (Jointly)
2006	Organisation	130 Infantry Battalion (TA) Ecological, Uttarakhand (Jointly)
2006	Individual	Dr. J. Raghava Rao
2006	Individual	Smt. S. Annapurna
2007	Organisation	BAIF Institute for Rural Development, Tiptur, Karnataka (Jointly)
2007	Organisation	Antoday NDSMEBK Samiti, Lucknow, UP (Jointly)
2007	Individual	Shri Afzal Khatri & Smt. Nusrat Khatri
2007	Individual	Dr. Rachna Gaur
2008	Organisation	Isha Foundation Isha Foundation Isha Foundation is a non-profit, spiritual organization founded in 1992 by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. It is based at the Isha Yoga Center near Coimbatore, India and at the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences at McMinnville, Tennessee in the United States. The foundation offers various yoga programs... , Coimbatore