About Our FOUNDER
Late Dr. M. N. Buch was an Indian Administrative Service officer who joined the service in 1957. He held many senior posts in the state government of Madhya Pradesh and in the Union Government. He took voluntary retirement in October 1984. The main areas of his expertise concern housing, forestation, town planning and environmental protection.
Born on 5th October 1934, he graduated in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University in the year 1954 and then studied at Cambridge University for his Masters Programme in Economics in 1956. He was a Parvin Fellow at Woodrow Wilson School for one year from 1967 to 1968. He got his Doctor of Science in April 2002 from Rajiv Gandhi Technical University.
He held the posts of Collector, District Magistrate, Director of Tribal Welfare, Secretary and Commissioner of the environmental group of departments that include Town Country Planning, Head of the Delhi Development Authority, Director General of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, Secretary of Housing and Forests and Vice-Chairman of National Commission on Urbanization, Chairman, Lutyens Bungalow Zone Committee of the Government of India and of the Committee on the Heritage Zone of Mehrauli. He also served as Chairman of the Empowered Committee for the New Vidhan Sabha building in Madhya Pradesh for which he was awarded the Aga Khan Award. He is popularly known as the 'architect of new Bhopal' for the urban planning concepts he introduced in the city.
Continuously holding the purely honorary post of Chairman, National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment in Bhopal since 1984, he has been the chairman of the Board of Governors ABV – Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management at Gwalior.
He received UNEP award for the implementation of desertification control program in 1994-95 and Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1998. He also got Man of Vision Award given to him by Hindustan Times in 2003. He received Padma Bhushan award for his contributions to civil service from Government of India in 2011.
He has written a large number of articles and papers on issues ranging from urban affairs to rural development, forestation, environment, watershed management, housing, municipal administration, governance, public administration, constitutional law and political and international affairs.
