NEW DELHI: Back in 2012, two-time MP from Madhya Pradesh , environment minister Anil Madhav Dave wrote a will in which he said when he dies his body should be cremated on the banks of the Narmada. And he further instructed: “No memorial should be erected anywhere in my name. If you want to cherish my memories, plant trees and save them. This would give me pleasure”.“Maximum efforts should be made for the conservation of rivers and water bodies and by doing so, use of my name should be avoided,” he said in his will, reflecting how environment protection and river conservation were close to his heart.He had also expressed his wish that his last rites should be performed through 'vaidik' rituals without any show.The environment was dear to Dave as were rivers for whose conservation he worked tirelessly for all his life. It is ironic and not a little tragic, that he breathed his last in the dust bowl of Delhi, a city whose pollution he made an earnest effort to combat.Though he had not been keeping well for the past couple of months after suffering from pneumonia, he had, of late, started attending office. On Wednesday, he even met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence in the evening.He was rushed to AIIMS after he complained of uneasiness, shortness of breath and chest pain around 9 am on Thursday morning. “All possible measures were taken immediately, but he could not survive and declared dead around 9.45 am,” said AIIMS in an official statement in the afternoon, noting that he was brought to the hospital in a stage of cardiac arrest.Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to break the news at 9.47 am tweeting: “Absolutely shocked by the sudden demise of my friend & a very respected colleague, environment minister Anil Madhav Dave ji. My condolences.”Dave is the second union minister of Modi government to have died in office. Gopinath Munde had died in a car accident in 2014.“Anil Madhav Dave ji will be remembered as a devoted public servant. He was tremendously passionate towards conserving the environment. I was with Anil Madhav Dave ji till late last evening, discussing key policy issues. This demise is a personal loss”, the Prime Minister said.Born on July 6, 1956 at Barnagar, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Dave, a bachelor, was an environmentalist at heart who even after becoming the minister preferred to take a ride in the Metro to reach the airport. As a Rajya Sabha MP, he would sometimes cycle to Parliament, and would often express a desire to continue with the habit even after becoming a part of the Union Cabinet.Soft spoken, unassuming and affable, Dave’s life was marked by its lack of ostentation. The PM who later also tweeted Dave’s will of 2012, said, “This document is a manifestation of simplicity & selflessness in public life. It is an illustration of Nishkama Karma Yoga”.A refelction of that simplicity is seen in the will. “Maximum efforts should be made for the conservation of rivers and water bodies and when doing so, use of my name should be avoided.”A news agency report from Bhopal said his last rites will be performed at Bandrabhan on the banks of the Narmada river in Hoshangabad district on Friday. The departed leader used to organise the international river festival at Bandrabhan to create awareness among people about conserving rivers.As a mark of respect to him, the national flag will fly at half-mast on all government buildings in Delhi and all state capitals on all the buildings where it is flown regularly and on the day of the funeral where it takes place.Expressing “profound sorrow at the sad demise” of Dave, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, on Thursday evening passed a resolution. The resolution noted that in his passing away, the country has lost a veteran and distinguished leader who held many eminent positions as MP and as a minister.Dave was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh from his childhood. He inherited the legacy of the RSS from his grandfather Dadasaheb Dave and volunteered to be a Pracharak (full-timer) after completing higher studies. His strong organisational skills brought him to the notice of the Sangh brass who then deputed him to the BJP just ahead of the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections in 2003. The party won the elections and Dave’s first major political assignment came soon after as he was appointed political adviser to the then chief minister Uma Bharati.Dave was elected to the Rajya Sabha first in 2009 and had been on various committees of Parliament including the committee on water resources and the consultative committee for the ministry of information & broadcasting. He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2016 and became the environment minister in July last year."I am shocked to learn of the sudden demise... He was a man of committed ideals. His debates on both political and issues of public concern were full of humour and wit and often helped in bringing down tense moments. His speeches in Parliament and in international fora were well researched and to the point," BJP veteran L K Advani said in his condolence message, adding that he had the "privilege of releasing one of the books by Dave titled ‘Sarjan se Visarjan Tak’.Till the end, Dave remained a true conservationist, and his first love the Narmada. A trained pilot, he once flew a Cessna 173 aircraft over the Narmada from the source to mouth. Not content with that he, also completed a 1,312 km raft journey along the entire length of the river.Besides being a river conservationist and environmentalist, Dave was also a prolific writer. He had authored several books in Hindi and English including one on climate change called Beyond Copenhagen and another on freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad.