TheCityFix Labs India
Experts and Mentors
Co-founder & Director, Collaborative Design Studio LLP
Trained as an architect and urban designer, he has a keen interest in engaging with the practices and processes that are constantly shaping our urban environment. His early works include slum improvement projects in a NGO & community driven mode. As a Program Manager at Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India he contributed towards working on the housing need assessment for displaced communities in Salamieh, Syria. He has worked as a Secretary of the MMR Societies, which were formed by the MMRDA for the protection of natural environment and built heritage in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). In the capacity of a consultant he has worked on a NIUA funded project for shallow aquifer management in the Thane Municipal Corporation region. He has worked with SPARC on a World Bank funded project on participatory mapping of health and sanitation amenities in the self-organised nagars of Dharavi and Deonar. Currently he is working on a UNDP funded project titled ‘Closing the loop’, which deals with the design and implementation of a decentralised sewage and waste water treatment system using nature based solutions for vulnerable settlements located in close proximity to inland waterbodies in rural MMR.
Co-Founder/CEO – GOWATR PVT LTD
Shreekant Jha, Co-Founder and CEO of GoWatr Private Limited, brings four decades of experience in the field of water management. Under his leadership technology has been integrated into water management, resulting in the creation of products for industries, residences, and customized applications. Numerous products have been designed and developed to address water related issues under industrial 4.0
This has encompassed the utilization of IoT, IIoT, sensors, drones, geo-fencing, electromagnetic flowmeters, and automation for real-time monitoring. The wireless transmission of real-time data has played a crucial role in understanding water usage and wastage by generating analytics. He has also led the development of products focused on sustainability and groundwater recharge, including a successful pilot project with the Netherlands government in Chennai, India. He collaborates with large international companies and real estate developers to provide comprehensive and tailored solutions. His has also established water audits to monitor water usage, promote groundwater recharge, reduce groundwater tapping, and implement rainwater harvesting practices.
Apart from his water management expertise, he holds a commerce degree and is a qualified technical analyst. He played a significant role in establishing the sugar futures exchange and advised the National Commodities Exchange and Multi Commodity Exchange. His expertise in risk management has benefited corporate clients.
In addition to his professional achievements, he is a motorsport enthusiast with two Himalayan rally victories and participation in numerous national rallies.
Senior Vice President, Chief Knowledge Officer
Trained as an architect and development planner, at Development Alternatives, Zeenat guides research on public policy development action focused on local,national global concerns on sustainable consumption and production, green and inclusive circular economy models, and building resilience to climate change in rapidly growing contexts of the global south.She is currently researching reciprocal relationships of learning systems and nature-based solutions for urban resilience and am registered as a Ph.D. scholar for the same at the TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi India. She also teaches a module on Sustainability and the Built Environment at the Anant National University, Ahmedabad, India, and has been a guest lecturer at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi and the Nirma University, Ahmedabad.
She has been a member of the Multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee (MAC) of the Sustainable Buildings and Construction Programme of UN’s One Planet Network, member of the Steering Committee of the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) in India, member of the Strategic Steering Committee of UNEP PAGE Programme in India and a member of the Steering group of the Future Earth Urban Knowledge Action Network (Urban-KAN). She is a part of the Task Force on Green and Inclusive Circular Economy for Angul District in the State of Orissa, India, Chair of the BIS Working Group on Rural Housing and member - CED 51- Committee on Housing and Planning of the Bureau of Indian Standards. In the past, she has been a founding member and Co-Chair of the Board of the Climate Action Network South Asia, member of the Task force of the Rural Housing, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and a member of the Sub-Committee on Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Urban Areas of the NITI Aayog, Government of India.
Senior Program Manager - Land Accelerator
Kavita leads the work on Land Accelerator, South Asia within the Sustainable Landscapes and Restoration team at WRI India. She rigorously works towards building capacities of entrepreneurs, farmers/FPOs, SMEs in developing innovative land restoration business models that enable climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives and creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities. An agri-business professional and environment enthusiast, she is focused on entrepreneurship development, business acceleration and impact investing. At WRI India, she also works with GRI’s Invest Team to support the integration and implementation of Terramatch with Land Accelerator to foster funding opportunities for small restoration businesses.
Prior to joining WRI India, Kavita was associated with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in establishing Agri-Business Incubators across the country under the RKVY-RAFTAAR scheme. She holds valuable experience working with public and private institutions in developing fresh food value chains in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh. Kavita significantly contributed to planning and designing the India International Horticulture Market (IIHM) in Sonepat, Haryana, as Technical Consultant to Rungis International Market, Paris (France).
She holds a PG Diploma in Agri-Business Management from National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur and a Vice-Chancellor’s Gold Medal in Agricultural Sciences from GBPUAT, Pantnagar. She is currently pursuing an MDP on "Management of Social Initiatives" from IIM Kozhikode. Kavita is a nature lover and likes reading newspapers.
Sustainability Consultant (Water sector)
Dr. Fawzia Tarannum is a water sustainability professional, educator, researcher, mentor, and social worker with an impressive career spanning 24 years. Having held diverse roles, including Assistant Professor at TERI School of Advanced Studies and General Manager-Sales at Cleantec Infra Private Limited, Fawzia's experience extends across academia and industry. As a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, Fawzia spent a transformative year at Cornell University, dedicating her efforts to advancing water and sanitation governance. Her commitment to academic excellence is further evident through her receipt of the University of Nairobi-IDRC Doctoral Research Grant. In 2022, Fawzia's dedication to sustainable development garnered her recognition as one of the 17 SDGs Women Changemakers by Sayfty and Twitter India. An ardent advocate for climate action, Fawzia completed the Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training under the guidance of former Vice President Al Gore. Through her efforts, she has conducted capacity-building programs on sustainable water management, community engagement, climate change, ESG, and gender equality, impacting over 5000+ individuals, including students, educators, government officials, and youth groups in India. Her research interests include water-food-energy nexus, blue-green infrastructure, water policy and governance, gender equity, and integrated water resources management. She is the Co-founder of WforW Foundation, a citizens’ platform to discuss water worries and solutions, Trustee and Advisor at GuruJal, an integrated water resources management initiative by the Abhipsa Foundation, and National Coordinator-Water, at The Climate Reality Project, India.
Past Workshops
TheCityFix Labs India: Accelerating Innovation: New Delhi | Mumbai | Bengaluru
TheCityFix Labs conducted policy dialogues in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru on the innovation ecosystem in these three sectors. These dialogues will presented discussions on operationalizing sustainability and scaling solutions by engaging city government stakeholders, industry experts, entrepreneurs and investors/financiers.
The details for each session are as follows:
| New Delhi | Mumbai | Bengaluru | |
| Date/Time | 23rd October, 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm |
25th October, 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm |
31st October, 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm |
| Venue | India International Centre Annexe, Lecture Room -I | Ministry of New, Fort | BHIVE, Residency Road |
| Agenda | View | View | View |
Accelerating Innovation is a pan-India Lab, where the overall goal is to establish a platform that encourages collaboration between investors, entrepreneurs and the state for public good. The Lab will identify project solutions in the areas of building efficiency, water management and efficiency and waste management, that can contribute to building and scaling sustainable built environments. The Lab seeks to work with a cohort of enterprises to help develop solutions that would appeal to State government programs while also evolving business models that can gain private financing access and support.
Partners
Outreach partners
Resources
Enabling sustainable built environments using innovating water-sensitive design
India is urbanising at a rapid pace and there is extensive and increasing demand for services like housing, water, sanitation, energy, and mobility. Recent reports on the state of water and energy...Read more
Advancing innovations for an energy-efficient built environment in Indian cities
India’s buildings are silent power guzzlers. According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Ministry of Statistics, Planning and Implementation (MOSPI), residential and commercial buildings consume 32 percent of the country’s total electricity. As our cities grow, building energy demand is poised to balloon. According to the Global Buildings Performance Network (2013), by 2030, India would have an… Read more
Financing the Transition to Sustainable Cities: Introducing TheCityFix Labs India
Cities are changing at an unprecedented rate: 75 percent of the infrastructure expected to be in place by 2050 has yet to be built. Meanwhile, major adjustments are needed to reach global climate and development goals. Now is the chance to invest for the long term and seize the estimated $26 trillion opportunity…Read more
TheCityFix Labs India Team
Aarathi Kumar
Monica Jain
In 2015, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, funded by the Citi Foundation, teamed up for a new partnership to leverage the expertise of our three organizations – WRI’s analytical and research competencies and long-term engagement with cities, the high-level connection with city leaders of C40 and the Citi Foundation’s urban economic progress agenda.
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low- income communities around the world.
The World Resource Institute is a non-governmental global research organization that aims to protect earth’s environment and provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations, including but not limited to improving the quality of life in cities, by developing and scaling environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable urban transport solutions, with capabilities to identify and implement such solutions in over fifty countries including within Europe, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and India.