Balbir Singh Seechewal (born 2 February 1962) is a Nirmala Sikh who spearheaded an anti-river pollution campaign in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, India. By combining his assiduously cultivated self-help philosophy with the environmental essence of the Gurbani, he has resurrected the long Kali Bein rivulet. He received Indian civilian award

Padmashri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred ...

in 2017. He is also known as ''Eco Baba''. In his latest project in early 2009, taking up the cudgels to save

Buddha Nullah Budha Nullah or Budha Naala ( pa, ਬੁੱਢਾ ਨਾਲ਼ਾ) is a seasonal water stream, which runs through the Malwa region of Punjab, India, and after passing through highly populated Ludhiana district, Punjab, India, it drains into Sutle ...

, Seechewal has initiated a campaign for generating awareness amongst different sections of the society to solve the problem of desilting the water body following the failure of the Punjab Pollution Control Board's (PPCB) and industries in complying with the High Court's orders in this regard. He cleaned and restored Kali Bein river, a 160 km long tributary of Beas in Doaba region of Punjab. Seechewal says that when he started the water-cleaning project of Kali Bein in 2007, it was a challenging task. But, as people became aware of its importance, they joined in cleaning the rivulet, which had become a dried-up drain and had been reduced to a garbage dump with its historic and religious significance long forgotten. He is a

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

member from Punjab.

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...

has selected him for his contributions on environment.

Life

He was born in a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

, agricultural family in Seechewal in Jalandhar district in Punjab, India to Chanan Singh and Chanan Kaur. He studied at

DAV College The D.B.V. College Managing Committee, familiarly known as DAVDholakpurMC, is a non-governmental educational organisation in Antarctica and overseas with over 900 schools. 75 colleges and a university. It is based on the ideals of Maharishi Da ...

, Nakodar. He put on saffron robes in 1981 after dropping out of college. He was twice a

sarpanch A sarpanch ( IAST: ''Sarpañch'' Hindi: ''सरपंच'') or Gram Pradhan or Mukhiya is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the Gram Sabha (village government) in India. The Sarp ...

of Seechewal.

Awards and honors

Balbir Singh Seechewal (left) receiving

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

award from the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...

(right) on 30 March 2017. * Hero of Environment by ''Time'' magazine

References

External links

Heroes of the Environment 2008Nirmal Kuteya Ek Onkar Charitable Trust
set up by Seechwal {{DEFAULTSORT:Seechewal, Balbir Singh Living people Punjabi people Indian environmentalists Activists from Punjab, India Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work Water conservation in India 1962 births Scholars from Punjab, India 20th-century Indian scholars 21st-century Indian scholars Aam Aadmi Party politicians Rajya Sabha members from Aam Aadmi Party