Faculty

Mona Iyer

Professor

Mona has over 18 years of experience in research, training and consultancy in water, sanitation and waste management sectors with focus on policy initiatives and project development mainly in Asia and the Pacific. She has been recipient of prestigious British Chevening Fellowship for Environment Management, UK and Netherland Fellowship Programme (for solid waste management) at UNESCO-IHE, Institute for water education, Delft. Mona holds a PhD in urban wastewater reuse policies.She was gold medallist in Post Graduate Diploma in Planning from CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India in 1997 and B.E. in Civil Engineering from BVM Engineering College, SP University, Gujarat, India in 1996. Mona has been involved in many projects that involves benchmarking of cities for different utility services. At CEPT, other than teaching she has been Team leader for the preparation of City Development Plans (CDP) and also Conducted appraisal of CDPs. She has been Team leader for planning and conducting training programs for Chief officers of Municipalities of Gujarat and active team member of PAS (Performance Assessment System for water and Sanitation), now C-WAS at CEPT

Education

Degree Institution Field Year of Completion
PhD CEPT University Planning 2016
Masters in Planning CEPT University Housing 1998
B E BVM College of Engineering Civil 1996

Areas of Expertise

Urban water , sanitation and solid waste management; Infrastructure development and project finance

Courses Taught

Sr No. Course Name Semester
1 DRP S-2024
2 Project Formulation, Appraisal and Implementation S-2024
3 Infrastructure Project Studio M-2023
4 Project Appraisal and Finance M-2023
5 Urban Water Sanitation, Planning & Management M-2023

Research/Design Projects in Areas of Expertise

Mona has a wide experience and has done many projects in Solid Waste Management, Waste to Energy, Sanitation and Urban planning. Amongst her recent key research activities are:

  • She has authored sections on urban and industrial waste management in the state of environment report for Gujarat State, India. 2012
  • She has worked as International Solid Waste Management Specialist for ADB to Investigate SWM practices in Pacific developing member countries. 2012
  • She was case studies editor for Global Waste Management outlook published by UNEP-ISWA, 2015.
  • She is authoring some sections of Asia Waste Management Outlook to be published by UNEP in 2017

Some of the esteemed projects that she has been involved which credit a mention here are

  • Project titled “Standardized Service Level Benchmarks for pilot cities in Gujarat and Maharashtra” from Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) in 2009;  The project  involved preparation of data collection templates, developing data analysis models for performance measurement, developing performance improvement plans and information improvement plans.
  • Project titled “Sanitation Rating for Class one cities in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra” from MoUD in 2009-10. The project involved conducting pilot surveys for preparation of survey instruments, preparation of training manual for survey team and imparting them the training, preparation of data collection templates, developing data analysis models for indicator based ranking of cities for sanitation status.
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded five years action research in “performance assessment of urban water supply and sanitation in 400+ cities of Gujarat and Maharashtra”. The project is still undergoing and involves (i) Developing performance measurement framework for Urban Water Supply and  Sanitation (UWSS) (ii) Conducting pilot surveys for preparation of survey instruments, preparation of guidelines for survey team and imparting them the training, preparation of data collection templates, developing data analysis models for performance measurement (iii) Preparation of approaches for performance improvement plans for improving financial viability of UWSS (iv) Co-ordination with survey teams, sector experts and relevant government departments (v) Developing communication strategy.
  • Project titled “Preparation of City Development Plan (CDP) for Mehsana, Gujarat” from Gujarat Urban Development Mission (GUDM) in 2006-07. The project involved  coordination with representatives of urban local body, identification of city infrastructure needs based on consultative process, preparation of project phasing, estimates and financial and operating plan
  • Project titled “Appraisal of CDP Jamshedpur, Ranchi, JNNURM, Government of India” in 2006-07. The project involved detailed review of CDP document in consultation with city officers, CDP consultant and sector experts, and validating it by site visits and preparing recommendations of the CDP

Research Articles and Book Chapters in Areas of Expertise

  • Global Waste Management Outlook by UNEP IETC-ISWA,2015, Editor Case studies
  • State of Environment Report, GoG, 2012,Chapter author for sections on waste management and sanitation in Chapters on Urban Environment and Industrial Environment
  • SWM practices in three Pacific developing member countries (DMC) - Timor-Leste, Fiji, and Kiribati, ADB 2012
  • Opportunities and Challenges for Power Exchanges in India: The Case of Gujarat (2012)
  • Critical Analysis of NELP in the context of Oil and Natural Gas Sector of India (2012)
  • Role of Contracts in Solid Waste Management Service Delivery: Case of Pune City, Maharashtra (2012)
  • Informal Sector Waste Recyclers in Municipal Waste: Prospects and Challenges – Case of Ahmedabad, India (2012)

  • Integrated e-waste management in India-A case of Gujarat (2012)

  • Performance Assessment of Solid Waste Management– A Case of Ahmedabad City (2011)

Presented Papers and Invited Lectures in Areas of Expertise

  • lecture on ‘Solid waste Management in Metro Cities’ for Students of Urban Renewal Mission Internship, PDPU, Gandhinagar, December 2015
  • Keynote address on ‘Waste management in Small Island Nations’, National Seminar on Economic Development across sectors-Understanding Development Discourses, M K Bhavnagar University, October, 2015
  • Lecture on ‘Current Practices of City Sanitation Plans and Energy Techniques’, SPA Vijayawada, March 2015
  • Keynote address on ‘Urban Wastewater Reuse: Global Experiences and Assessment Framework for India’, National Seminar on Economic Development across sectors-Discourses on New Areas of Research, M K Bhavnagar University, December, 2014
  • Presentation on ‘Waste management in Island Nations’, UKNA Roundtable, Ahmedabad, December 2014
  • Invited video lecture for online solid waste management course, offered by UNESCO-IHE, November 2014
  • Keynote address on ‘Groundwater Resource and Management: Review with Special Reference to India and Gujarat’, National Seminar on Economic Development across sectors-Discourses on Theories, Policies and Issues, M K Bhavnagar University, March, 2014
  • Presentation on ‘Urban wastewater reuse:Global experiences andPotential for Gujarat’. India Water Expo, Ahmedabad, March 2014
  • Member of Editorial team meeting on the ‘Global Waste Management Outlook’‘ March 2014 UN-IETC, Osaka, Japan
  • Lecture on ‘Planning and managing Urban water and Sanitation’, Professional Development Programme/Urban Regulations and Bye-laws, CEPT University, February 2014
  • Invited participant for First consultation on the ‘Global Waste Management Outlook’, July 2013 , Paris, France
  • Invited Expert lecture for the in-house course on Solid Waste management July 2013, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands
  • Lecture on ‘Water and Sanitation with focus on Research in Economics’, Department of Economics, GU, February 2013
  • Panel discussion in National Seminar on Ecology, Communication and Youth: An Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP) initiative- Road map for Gujarat and for other regions, MICA February 2013
  • Facilitation of session on Financial Arrangements for Solid Waste Management in the Pacific Regional Consultation Workshop Nadi, Fiji, November 2012
  • Expert member for brainstorming session on communication dissemination plan under Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme, MICA November 2012
  • Lecture on ‘Various opportunities available in environmental field and various teaching methodologies’ for  Higher Secondary Teachers Training Programme, CEE, September 2012
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