In an evening of poignant remembrance, friends and admirers of former IAS officer and noted urban planner Mahesh Neelkanth Buch today came together to "celebrate" his life marked by honesty and integrity.
Luminaries cutting across political, bureaucratic and legal spectrum eulogized Buch, widely regarded as the architect of new Bhopal, at a memorial service organised at the India International Centre.
Speakers including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP patriarch Lal Krishna Advani, former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee paid glowing tributes to the "ever accessible" officer.
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Singh, who had first met Buch during their Cambridge days, recounted their "long discussions and differences" saying that despite everything the "warmth of friendship remained".
Referring to the letters written by Buch to him in his capacity as Chairman, Board of Governors of IIITM Gwalior, Singh suggested that they could be "compiled as a book".
Lamenting that he "could not get to know" Buch closely, Advani said Buch was the kind who had the qualities that "society expects from those who run the country".
Dikshit remembered him as an "icon and inspiration", known by his characteristic smile. Buch has also served as the Vice Chairman of Delhi Development Authority in 1977.
Born on October 5, 1934, Buch originally hails from Gujarat. After taking VRS, he founded NGO National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment (NCHSE) in Bhopal.
He was also awarded UNEP award for implementation of desertification control programme in 1994-95, Aga Khan Award for architecture in 1998 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013.
Nirmala Buch, his wife, and other family members was also at present during the occasion.
In his brief eulogy, Sorabjee hailed Buch for possessing that "rare and lovely" virtue, "courage".
Digvijaya, also the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, described Buch as a "born dissenter and anti establishment". "He was my bitterest critic during my chief ministerial days but later became a good friend.
