Dr. Prashant Gargava, Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Nagpur University, has nearly 35 years of experience in environmental governance, research, policy, and administration. He joined the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 1991 and later served as Member Secretary (2018–2023), holding multiple leadership positions in CPCB and MoEFCC.

He played a major role in shaping India’s air-quality framework, authoring the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Delhi-NCR, conceptualizing the National Clean Air Program (NCAP), and leading development of the Air Quality Index (AQI). He supervised major studies including the Six-City Source Apportionment Study, established UrbAirIndia, and co-authored global clean-air frameworks.

His work includes development of standards, guidelines for various waste streams, biomedical waste-handling protocols during COVID-19, and Circular Economy initiatives. As visiting faculty at SPA and IIT Delhi, he has guided numerous graduate students, four Ph.D. scholars. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed research papers and technical reports.

Dr. Gargava has received numerous national and international awards, including the Haggen-Smit Clean Air Award (2022) for international leadership, Fulbright Environment Leadership Fellowship (2011), and Air Quality Management Lifetime Achievement Award (IICAQM – Consortium of IITs and leading global universities).

He joined the National Green Tribunal as Expert Member on 14 August 2025.