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About CHSC

CHSC

Objectives

  • 1. Advancement of Environmental Sustainability through Water Conservation Initiatives

    The Research Centre shall undertake, support, and promote initiatives aimed at advancing environmental sustainability, with a particular focus on water conservation and hydrological issues. This shall include, but not be limited to, conducting and funding research in water-related sciences, raising public and institutional awareness about water-related environmental challenges, and supporting educational programs and initiatives that aim to deepen understanding of water conservation, management, and sustainability. The Centre shall operate both within the national territory and on an international scale, collaborating with governmental, non-governmental, academic, and other relevant organizations to further these objectives.

  • 2. Scientific Studies and Public Education on Water Management

    The Centre shall conduct comprehensive scientific research and studies on water conservation, management, and related environmental issues and shall ensure that the findings of such studies are compiled, analysed, and presented in clear, accessible formats, designed to be easily understood by the general public. In doing so, the Centre aims to foster widespread awareness, encourage informed action, and promote the adoption of sustainable water practices among individuals, communities, and relevant stakeholders.

  • 3. Water Conservation Education and Awareness Initiatives

    The Centre shall organize and facilitate training programs, workshops, and awareness campaigns to educate individuals and communities on water conservation techniques, efficient water management practices, and ways to contribute to sustainable water use.

  • 4. Promotion of Innovation in Water Management

    The Centre shall promote innovation in water management by supporting the development and application of advanced technologies and methodologies aimed at enhancing water conservation and ensuring sustainable usage.

  • 5. Collaboration for Addressing Water Challenges

    The Centre shall collaborate with global and local organizations, government agencies, and environmental experts to share knowledge, resources, and strategies to address the pressing water challenges faced by the society at large.

  • 6. Empower Communities for Water Stewardship

    The Centre shall empower communities by providing tools, knowledge, and resources to enable them to take active roles in conserving and managing water sustainably.

  • 7. Advocacy for Water Sustainability Policies

    The Centre shall advocate for and work towards the creation of robust policies that promote water sustainability, ensuring the inclusion of water conservation as a core aspect of national and international environmental agendas.

  • 8. Promote Water-Efficient Practices in Industries and Agriculture:

    The Centre shall work closely with industries and agricultural sectors to promote the adoption of water-efficient technologies and sustainable practices that reduce water consumption and prevent water wastages.

  • 9. Resource Mobilization and Collaboration

    The Centre shall raise funds, receive donations, endowments, and grants, and collaborate with individuals, institutions, corporates, and government bodies to implement, support, and expand the charitable activities outlined above, in compliance with applicable laws.

  • 10. Monitoring and Assessment of Water Resources

    The Centre shall establish mechanisms to regularly monitor and assess the condition of water resources at local, regional, and national levels, providing reports and insights to inform policy decisions and guide effective water management strategies.

Director

Dr. Pradeep K. Naik

B.Tech. (RSA), M.Sc. (IITR), M.S. (USA), PhD (IITR)

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Dr. Pradeep Kumar Naik is a hydrogeologist with over three decades of professional experience in India and abroad, including the USA, Canada, Africa and the Middle East. He is the Founder and Head of the Centre for Hydrological Sciences and Communication. Previously, he served as Regional Director at the Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Govt. of India, and as Senior Faculty at the Rajiv Gandhi National Ground Water Training and Research Institute, Raipur, where he played a key role in strengthening its scientific management. From 2007 to 2014, he was Advisor (Water Resources) to the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Dr. Naik holds a B.Tech. in Civil Engineering from the University of South Africa, an M.S. in Environmental Science and Engineering from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology (USA), an M.Sc. in Applied Geology, and a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences (Hydrogeology) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

He is recognised as a Certified Groundwater Professional (CGWP) by the National Groundwater Association (NGWA), USA and Professional Hydrologist – Ground Water (PH-GW) by the American Institute of Hydrology (AIH).

His expertise spans water resources assessment, groundwater development and management, hydrogeological investigations, aquifer mapping, managed aquifer recharge, rainwater harvesting, stormwater injection, and the study of climate impacts on hydrology and sediment transport. He has authored over 150 scientific contributions and made several pioneering advances, including:

  • Estimating virgin flow of the Columbia River, USA, for historical periods.
  • Developing a prototype model to separate climate and anthropogenic impacts on river flow and sediment transport.
  • Advancing groundwater resource development in the Western Ghats through detailed studies of high-elevation springs.
  • Leading aquifer mapping and management in northwestern India, with emphasis on the National Capital Region.
  • Innovating hydrogeochemical forecasting through rock-water interactions for tribal regions in central India.
  • Creating indexing approaches for groundwater contamination assessment using chemometric techniques and analytical hierarchy processes.
  • Demonstrating superiority of probabilistic modelling over deterministic approaches in human health risk assessment.

Dr. Naik is an active member/fellow of around 20 national and international professional bodies and serves as a reviewer for over 60 international journals, with current editorial roles in three of them. His research has earned him numerous recognitions, including the prestigious National Geoscience Award for groundwater exploration by the Government of India and the Eminent Environmental Engineer Award from the Institution of Engineers (India).

Key Collaborators

Dr. A. V. S. S. Anand

M.Sc., M.Tech., Ph.D. (Andhra)
Adjunct Professor
Department of Geology
Andhra University
Visakhapatnam, India

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Dr. A. V. S. S. Anand is a distinguished hydrogeologist and former scientist at the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Department of River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India, with nearly 35 years of professional experience in groundwater research and management. His expertise spans groundwater resource assessment, flow and contaminant transport modelling, remote sensing and GIS applications, geostatistics, computational tools, and software development for hydrogeological studies.

During his tenure at the Rajiv Gandhi National Ground Water Training and Research Institute (RGNGWTRI), Raipur, Dr. Anand served for eight years as a senior faculty member, training water professionals from various State and Central Government organizations, as well as university faculty and students across India.

Dr. Anand holds an M.Sc. in Geology from Osmania University, Hyderabad, an M.Tech. in Geo-Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. He also earned an ‘A’ Level Certification in Computer Science from DOEACC.

He has contributed to more than 80 scientific works, including national-level reports, and played a pivotal role as a Member of the Ground Water Resources Estimation Committee (2022), constituted by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, to review and enhance the national methodology for groundwater assessment.

Dr. Anand is the patent holder of DOWSER, a groundwater modelling software (Diary No. 10169/2015-CO/SW; Copyright No. SW-9914/2018), and a recipient of the Professional Excellence Award (2020) by the Aqua Foundation, New Delhi.

At present, Dr. Anand serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, where he teaches hydrogeology, geoinformatics, engineering geology, and environmental geology to postgraduate students and cosupervises three research scholars.

Dr. Anand acts as a reviewer for numerous journal publications.

Dr. Herojeet Rajkumar

M.Sc., Ph.D. (Panjab)
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Environmental Studies
Post-Graduate College, Sector 11
Chandigarh, India

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Dr. Herojeet Rajkumar is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at the Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh, with over 15 years of teaching and research experience. He holds an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Dr. Rajkumar has worked extensively on the impacts industrialization on soil and groundwater systems, particularly in the Nalagarh Valley of Himachal Pradesh. His key areas of expertise include geochemical indexing, chemometric modelling, hydrogeochemical investigations, human health risk assessment, rock–water interactions, pollutant source apportionment, and the Hofmeister phenomena in human kidneys.

He has made more than 50 research contributions, including 35 peer-reviewed journal publications and 10 conference presentations. His notable scientific achievements include:

  • Pioneering the probabilistic estimation of human exposure to Hofmeister ion series, offering new insights into the role of specific ion effects in the onset of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology (CKDu).
  • Explaining, for the first time, the synergistic occurrence of fluoride and total hardness in groundwater as a potential cause of CKDu.
  • Demonstrating that probabilistic modelling surpasses deterministic approaches in human health risk assessment.
  • Developing the Heavy Metal Contamination Index (HCI) — a novel method for assessing heavy metal pollution in groundwater. Australian Innovation Patent (No. 2021103521/2021).
  • Proposing the Comprehensive Water Quality Index (CWQI), based on the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), to evaluate groundwater contamination due to physicochemical parameters. Republic of South Africa Patent (No. 2023/02628).

He is also a reviewer for several international journals and has been recognized by Elsevier for his outstanding contributions to scientific reviewing.

Honorary Advisors

Prof. Shakeel Ahmed

Emeritus Scientist, CSIR-National Geophysical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad,
India Emeritus Professor, CSIR-Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research,
India.

Prof. Sharad Jain

Former Director, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, India.

Dr. Sudhir Kumar

Former Director, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, India.