Almitra Patel (born 1936) is an Indian

environmental policy Environmental policy is the commitment of an organization or government to the laws, regulations, and other policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues. These issues generally include air and water pollution, waste management, ecosystem mana ...

advocate and anti-pollution activist.

Education

Almitra's father was a businessman and her mother a civic activist, involved with an education society she had founded. Almitra’s was surrounded by science from an early age, and along with her cousin was the first girl to study science at Barnes High School. Her father wanted her to study engineering, so he sent his daughter to the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT) to pursue higher studies in ceramics. She finished her BSc in General Engineering and MS in Ceramics in three years, and in 1959 she became the first Indian woman engineer to graduate from MIT. Over the next three decades, she worked in the fields of abrasives, foundry-refractories and cement tile industries.

Advocacy and activism

From the 1970s Almitra was also involved in civic and environmental issues, including saving the

Asiatic Lion The Asiatic lion is a population of ''Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat ...

s, being a tree warden, saving

Ulsoor Ulsoor, or Halasuru, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city of Bangalore. It is located in central Bangalore, and begins roughly near the eastern terminus of MG Road. It is renowned for its numerous temples and market. History and ...

Lake, solid waste management, and building low cost homes. Almitra went on to become active in environmental policy advocacy. She is currently engaged in solid waste management issues in various think tanks and government panels. In 1991, Almitra set out to find a solution for hygienic municipal solid waste management, and found that most of the 80 Indian cities she visited in 1994-1995 had nowhere to dump their waste except in the outskirts of the city or approach roads. Almitra Patel's landmark 1996 Public Interest Litigation in the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

against the open dumping of municipal solid waste was instrumental in the drafting of the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules. She conducted a study on the Ghazipur landfill.

Education

Advocacy and activism

References

Further reading