I. Board Of Trustees

I. Board Of Trustees

Fr. Hermann Bacher

He is known as the ‘father of watershed development movement in Maharashtra’ and the reason is obvious enough. Born in Switzerland, Fr Bacher made Maharashtra his home early in life. Having come into close contact with villagers whose lives had been turned upside down for lack of water resources, he initiated watershed development activities and subsequently co-founded WOTR. His favourite lines have been: “Without watershed development, there is no solution to drought” and “Water is the problem; WOTR, the solution.”

Mr. Crispino Lobo

His list of academic achievements is long and impressive. An alumnus of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, India, and the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA, Crispino has five academic degrees covering the fields of philosophy, theology, psychology, economics and public administration. In fact, he would have been in a commanding position in corporate circles had his mind and heart not turned him to taking up the cause of the villagers. He is well known in development circles for his knowledge and achievements in the fields of natural resource management, participatory watershed development and integrated water resources management. He co-founded WOTR, together with Fr Bacher. He now heads the Sampada Trust, a microfinance and entrepreneurship development centre.

Mr. Asoke Basak

When it comes an understanding of the functioning of government agencies, there is none better than Mr Asoke Basak, now a retired IAS officer who served as the Additional Chief Secretary of the government of Maharashtra, Chairman of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad-Bhir, Collector of Nasik and Nanded, Dairy Development Commissioner and has worked with the Maharashtra government in various other positions. He has two Masters degrees in Geology and Business Administration and a Diploma in Systems Management to his credit. His diverse experience in various fields of development administration is what has proved to be of immense benefit to WOTR.

Dr. G G Parikh

A well known freedom fighter and champion of the poor, ‘G G’ as he is known to his friends, Dr Parikh is one of the mainstays of the Yusuf Meherally Centre, a centre for rural re-empowerment, located in Tara village, Panvel. At 84, he travels the 90 or so kilometres to Tara in Raigad district, near Mumbai, on a weekly, and sometimes bi-weekly, basis and continues his medical work at his clinic in Mumbai for the rest of the week. Dr Parikh and his wife are also working on a Khadi Gramodyog Andolan. He has been on the Board of Trustees of WOTR since 1996.

Mr. Anand Sharma

He is a Co-Founder of the TBM Consulting Group, Inc., a consultant to manufacturing companies, and serves as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Immediately prior to establishing the TBM Consulting Group, Mr Sharma served as Executive Vice President of Productivity Inc., and headed its consulting and training practices. Mr Sharma served in a number of line and staff positions with American Standard, Inc., before becoming Vice President of Operations for one of its leading operating divisions. He has more than 20 years experience within the manufacturing industry.