<div>Former union minister and deputy chairman of Planning Commission Mohan Dharia passed away in a private hospital here following prolonged illness, a family friend said Monday.<br /><br /><div>He was 89 and is survived by his wife Shashikala, sons Sushil and Ravindra and daughter Sadhana Shroff.<br /><br /></div><div>Dharia was admitted to the Pune Hospital in Sadashivpeth for treatment of a kidney ailment last Saturday, but failed to recover.<br /><br /></div><div>Dharia breathed his last at around 7.55 a.m. Monday, said his close friend of nearly five decades, Chandrakant Ingulkar.<br /><br /></div><div>The funeral details shall be decided after the eldest son Sushil, who lives in the US returns here, Ingulkar said.<br /><br /></div><div>A lawyer by profession, two-time member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Dharia had been a prominent figure in the state and national politics.<br /><br /></div><div>He served as a minister of state under prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1971 but left the Congress after the imposition of the Emergency in 1975.<br /><br /></div><div>He joined the Bharatiya Lok Dal and later became commerce minister under prime minister Morarji Desai in 1977.<br /><br /></div><div>Born Feb 14, 1925 in Mahad town of Raigad district in Maharashtra, Dharia completed his schooling there before moving to Pune and completed his law from ILS Law College.<br /><br /></div><div>Simultaneously, he joined the Praja Socialist Party and plunged into the Indian freedom struggle and post-Independence joined fulltime politics from the Pune Municipal Corporation.<br /><br /></div><div>After an active life in politics spanning nearly five decades, he became a dedicated environmentalist and champion of farmers rights.<br /><br /></div><div>He founded the Vanrai, an umbrella organisation comprising thousands of non-government organisations, through which over 25 million saplings were distributed free to the people as part of an afforestation drive, Ingulkar added.<br /><br /></div><div>Among many other awards, Dharia was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour for his social work in 2005.</div><div><br /></div></div>
<div>Former union minister and deputy chairman of Planning Commission Mohan Dharia passed away in a private hospital here following prolonged illness, a family friend said Monday.<br /><br /><div>He was 89 and is survived by his wife Shashikala, sons Sushil and Ravindra and daughter Sadhana Shroff.<br /><br /></div><div>Dharia was admitted to the Pune Hospital in Sadashivpeth for treatment of a kidney ailment last Saturday, but failed to recover.<br /><br /></div><div>Dharia breathed his last at around 7.55 a.m. Monday, said his close friend of nearly five decades, Chandrakant Ingulkar.<br /><br /></div><div>The funeral details shall be decided after the eldest son Sushil, who lives in the US returns here, Ingulkar said.<br /><br /></div><div>A lawyer by profession, two-time member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Dharia had been a prominent figure in the state and national politics.<br /><br /></div><div>He served as a minister of state under prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1971 but left the Congress after the imposition of the Emergency in 1975.<br /><br /></div><div>He joined the Bharatiya Lok Dal and later became commerce minister under prime minister Morarji Desai in 1977.<br /><br /></div><div>Born Feb 14, 1925 in Mahad town of Raigad district in Maharashtra, Dharia completed his schooling there before moving to Pune and completed his law from ILS Law College.<br /><br /></div><div>Simultaneously, he joined the Praja Socialist Party and plunged into the Indian freedom struggle and post-Independence joined fulltime politics from the Pune Municipal Corporation.<br /><br /></div><div>After an active life in politics spanning nearly five decades, he became a dedicated environmentalist and champion of farmers rights.<br /><br /></div><div>He founded the Vanrai, an umbrella organisation comprising thousands of non-government organisations, through which over 25 million saplings were distributed free to the people as part of an afforestation drive, Ingulkar added.<br /><br /></div><div>Among many other awards, Dharia was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour for his social work in 2005.</div><div><br /></div></div>