Overview
- His son, mathematician Siddhartha Gadgil, confirmed he died late Wednesday in Pune after a brief illness.
- He chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, whose 2011 report urged declaring about 75% of the range ecologically sensitive with strict curbs on mining, large dams and unregulated infrastructure.
- A later panel led by K. Kasturirangan scaled down the proposal, multiple draft notifications followed, and eco‑sensitive areas remain largely unnotified despite disasters such as the 2024 Wayanad landslides.
- He founded the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, authored seven books and over 225 papers, helped shape the Biological Diversity Act and advanced People’s Biodiversity Registers.
- Honours included the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, the Tyler and Volvo environment prizes and UNEP’s 2024 Champions of the Earth, as tributes poured in from figures including Jairam Ramesh and Ramachandra Guha.