CTO and Head of Business Development & Proposals, JWIL Infra Limited
Bodhisattwa Dasgupta is chief technology officer (CTO) and head of business development & proposals at JWIL Infra Limited, a holistic water management company established in 2006. Bodhisattwa looks after business development, tendering, proposals as well as the technology aspects of the company. JWIL has initiated various projects under his leadership, including water supply projects in Jharkhand, a water supply project for the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), and a water supply project in Tanzania. JWIL’s milestone wastewater treatment plant project in Bhandup, Mumbai is also being handled by him.
Before joining JWIL, Bodhisattwa worked in leading infrastructure development firms including Veolia Water (India), where he was head of tendering and business development for various water-related projects. He also worked with Dr Muhammad Yunus as a part of Grameen-Veolia Water Limited to establish tailor-made solutions for clean drinking water and uninterrupted water supply to the population of Goalmari, Bangladesh. Post this, he moved to Organica Water as head of tendering and business development, and developed various wastewater treatment facilities. Bodhisattwa’s most memorable assignment goes back to the time when he was head of tendering and business development for a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Nilothi district of Delhi. He and his team, under the supervision of DJB, designed, built and delivered a one-of-its-kind self-sustainable green WWTP with a capacity of 91 mld.
With over two decades of experience in infrastructure development, Bodhisattwa has a comprehensive understanding of market behaviour, forecasting and prediction. He notes that there is an urgent need to strengthen the clean water network in developing regions. While the opportunities in the sector are growing, it is still a challenge to increase the number of tap water connections with clean drinking water from 58 per cent at present to at least 90 per cent. India’s task in the next few years would be to tackle the issue of untreated sewage by connecting thousands of septic tanks, manholes and drains, creating a large network of sewage treatment plants to recycle, reuse and convert wastewater to safe drinking water.
Bodhisattwa has a postgraduate certificate in business administration and management from XLRI Jamshedpur and an executive MBA from SPJIMR, Mumbai. Outside of work, he actively participates in marathons and other endurance sports and spends time reading and playing with his pet dog. w