People of CPD

Akshata holds a Masters of Arts in Marathi Literature from Mumbai University. She joined the CPD team in 2023 and coordinates the Mumbai city district for the Water-for-All campaign. She has contributed to increasing the reach of the campaign to new communities, and engaging effectively with municipality administration.

Jagdish is a housing rights activist, and has worked in the urban development sector with informal workers for over 30 years. He has been a part of the CPD team since its formation in 2017, when he joined to coordinate the implementation of the Jahaan Insaan Wahaan Paani Abhiyaan (Water for All campaign). He currently leads the 51 Mumbaikars campaign for Participatory Urban Governance, and the “Democracy to the last mile” programme at CPD.

Kailash holds a Bachelors of Commerce from Mumbai University. He joined the CPD team in 2024 and manages the office administration and accounts. Kailash has experience supporting grassroots community activism, and was previously part of the Prerna Sangathan where he volunteered as a community librarian.

Pravin holds a Bachelors in Political Science from Mumbai University. He has been a part of the CPD team since its formation in 2017. As part of the Jahaan Insaan Wahaan Paani Abhiyaan (Water for All campaign), he expanded the campaign in Mumbai city district, showing commendable leadership skills in developing strong relations with community members, and advocacy skills with politicians and decision-makers. In 2023, Pravin was nominated as the co-convenor of Pani Haq Samiti.

 

Shakirs holds a Bachelors in Science (IT) from Mumbai University. He has been a part of the CPD team since its formation in 2017. As part of the Jahaan Insaan Wahaan Paani Abhiyaan (Water for All campaign), he expanded the campaign in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai, including the M-east ward with the lowest Human Development Index in Mumbai city. Shakir worked to bring water supply connections to residents there, improving their quality of life. Shakir also contributed greatly to the humanitarian response in these communities during the COVID-19 pandemic by running community kitchens.

 

Sunil holds a Bachelors in Science (IT) from Mumbai University. He has been a part of the CPD team since 2019. As part of the Jahaan Insaan Wahaan Paani Abhiyaan (Water for All campaign), he expanded the campaign in western suburbs of Mumbai, building community networks with Adivasis living in Aarey and Sanjay Gandhi National Park. He played a vital role in bringing the first water supply connections to informal settlements such as Ambojwadi, Siddharth Nagar, Gautam Nagar and Ganpat Patil Nagar, where residents had been struggling to get their right to water for over a decade due to the absence of piped water networks.

 

Vishal holds a Master of Arts/Science in Water Policy & Governance from TISS Mumbai. He has been a part of the CPD team since its formation in 2017. As part of the Jahaan Insaan Wahaan Paani Abhiyaan (Water for All campaign), he expanded the campaign across the eastern suburbs of Mumbai, developing strong relations with both community members as well as municipality administrative officials. In 2023-25 he was awarded the Inlaks Shivdasani fellowship for Social Engagement. Currently, he leads the Active Citizenry Programme at CPD, and has played a key role in establishing the Doston ki Duniyadari Fellowship within it.

Yogesh has been a part of the CPD team since its formation in 2017. He works in the western suburbs of Mumbai as part of the Jahaan Insaan Wahaan Paani Abhiyaan (Water for All campaign). Over the last four years, he has worked on the “Democracy to the last mile” programme at CPD, engaging with informal migrant communities in the city. He is a community activist and has worked to organise youth of Ambedkar Nagar, where he lives.

Aravind Unni is an urban practitioner, researcher, and activist based in New Delhi, committed to building inclusive, equitable, and sustainable cities. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, focusing on street vendors and their negotiations with urban planning systems in India, especially after the Street Vendors Act of 2014.

 

Hussain Indorewala is a teacher and urban researcher. He teaches at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture (KRVIA) in Mumbai. His research work is focused on urban history, urban planning, political economy of land and housing, and public transport. He writes frequently in the popular press on urban development, planning and policy.

 

Mansi did an MBA in social entrepreneurship from NMIMS and MA in international electoral management from TISS. Co-founder of an initiative called Constitutional Values Comic, Mansi is a writer a visual artist. She has worked with CPD to make IEC materials, hosting workshops, and developing educational material.

Pooja was a student of Journalism when she joined CPD in 2019. She was a part of the team until 2023, after which she continued her academic journey and completed a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from College of Social Work Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai. During her time at CPD, she worked with homeless communities in Western Mumbai, focusing on securing their basic entitlements. She is a photographer, and an active member of the editorial team for Aisa Bharat Banayenge, a youth-led magazine.

Poonam is a PhD Candidate (Social Sciences) & Teaching Instructor at Syracuse University, USA. She has been collaborating with PHS saathis on several projects, including developing a video archive of activist stories.

Prachi is a documentary photographer and filmmaker based in Mumbai, India. She began volunteering with Pani Haq Samiti in 2019 by documenting informal settlements across the city without access to official water, spreading awareness through social media, and fundraising. She shot and worked on Pipe Dream, a short documentary produced by the Charles Correa Foundation about the difficulty of obtaining a water connection in an informal settlement and the work of Pani Haq Samiti.

 

Purva holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of Manchester, with research focused on urban sanitation and infrastructure governance in Mumbai’s marginalised communities. She has been actively engaged with Pani Haq Samiti since 2014, where she serves as both convener and a licensed plumber. Over the years, her engagement has evolved from initial community organising and capacity building to encompass action research, grant writing, policy advocacy and strategic communications.

 

Ain is a PhD candidate in the Dept. of Water Governance at IHE Delft, Netherlands. She began volunteering with Pani Haq Samiti in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and contributed to documenting the state of water and sanitation access in Mumbai’s informal settlements during the lockdown. She collaborated with film-maker Jayant Parashar to make a short documentary “Izzat ka Pani” about the struggle for water access in Mumbai. Ain supports the team in research, communications and fundraising.

 

Sabah Khan is a social justice leader working to amplify the voices and leadership of secular Muslim youth and women. She is the founder of Parcham Collective and the Savitri Fatima Institute for Inclusive Development (SFFID)—initiatives that foster civic engagement, leadership, and narrative power in marginalized Muslim communities.

Savitri Medhatul is a Mumbai-based theatre artist and documentary film-maker. She is the founder of Kali Bill Productions.

 

Shail is an architect and urban researcher based in Mumbai. He is interested in documenting how contemporary planning processes and inequitable resource allocation, including access to water, actively marginalize vulnerable populations. He has been volunteering with Pani Haq Samiti since 2021, where he supports the team with research, writing and developing graphics.

 

Suraj Katra is a Mumbai-based documentary filmmaker and visual storyteller who has been volunteering with Pani Haq Samiti since 2018, using media to drive advocacy and awareness. He works with organisations across the social development sector to build impact-driven communication. His photography has been featured by the BBC, Deutsche Welle, The Wire, and other platforms. Suraj directed Pipe Dream, a short film produced by the Charles Correa Foundation, highlighting the work of Pani Haq Samiti.

 

Academic, Author and Housing Rights activist. She currently serves as Dean, School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Academic, Author, Feminist activist, Founder of Queer Collectives – LABIA (earlier Stree Sangam) and Hasratein Zindagi Mamuli

Housing Rights activist, and Development-sector professional with expertise in Participatory Urban Governance, Housing Rights, Resettlement and Rehabilitation

Human Rights activist, Co-founder of the Indian People’s Tribunal (IPT), the Human Rights Law Network and the human rights magazine Combat Law
Social activist, Development-sector professional, Visiting faculty of Urban Governance in architecture colleges, Founder & Convenor of Pani Haq Samiti, and Founder & Director of Centre for Promoting Democracy