Mahesh N. Buch was an Indian civil servant and urban planner, considered by many as the architect of modern Bhopal. The Government of India honored him, in 2011, with Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, for his services to the nation. He was born on 5 October 1934 in Sahiwal, Punjab, British India. He got his graduation in Economics from Delhi University in the year 1954 and then studied at Cambridge University and got his masters degree in Economics in 1956. He served as a Parvin Fellow at Woodrow Wilson School for one year in 1967-68. He got his Doctor of Science in April 2002 from Rajiv Gandhi Technical University. He held the posts of Collector, District Magistrate, Director of Tribal Welfare, Secretary and Commissioner of the environmental group of departments that include Town Country Planning, Head of the Delhi Development Authority, director General of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, Secretary of Housing and Forests and Vice-Chairman of National Commission on Urbanization. He placed his request to Union Carbide to change their location if they want to change their method from processing of pesticides to production of pesticides.

He serves as the Chairman of the National centre for Human Settlements and Environment in Bhopal. This is a research institution that works in the field of settlements planning, forestation, watershed management, consumer protection, skill development and environmental protection. At present he is serving as the chairman of the Board of Governors ABV Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management at Gwalior.