Mahesh N Buch was born on 5th October 1934. He graduated in Economics from the Delhi University in 1954 and obtained his Masters Degree in Economics from Cambridge University in 1956. He also spent an year at the Woodrow Wilson School as a Parvin Fellow in 1967-68.
In April 2002 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) by the Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Bhopal (MP).
Mahesh Buch joined the premier civil service of India, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1957 through a competitive examination. Thereafter he has held a number of senior posts under the state government in the State of Madhya Pradesh and in the federal government. These include the posts of Collector and District Magistrate of a district, Director, Tribal Welfare, Secretary and Commissioner of the environmental group of departments including Town Country Planning, Housing and Forests, head of the Delhi Development Authority, Director General of the National Institute of Urban Affairs and Vice-Chairman of National Commission on Urbanization. He voluntarily retired from service in October 1984.
Mahesh Buch is Chairman of the National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment at Bhopal, an applied research institution working in the field of settlements planning, afforestation, environmental protection, watershed management, consumer protection and skill development. He has won the UNEP award for implementation of desertification control program in 1994-95, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1998 and the Man of Vision Award instituted by the Hindustan Times in 2003. His main areas of concern are Town Country Planning, Housing, Afforestation and Environmental Protection.
