Brief Profile of
Shri A K Bajaj, Chairman, CWC, New Delhi, India
Shri A K Bajaj, Chairman, Central Water Commission is an officer in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. He is the senior most technical officer in the Government of India in the field of Water Resources Development and Management. He was born on 15th August, 1951 and obtained his BE (Honours) Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology and M.Tech. in Fluids & Water Resources Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Shri Bajaj belongs to the all-India cadre of “Central Water Engineering Services”. He joined CWC as Assistant Director in 1974, and rose through the ranks to finally head the organization in April 2008 as its Chairman. Between 1974 and now, he has worked in the fields of design of hydromechanical equipment; hydro-meteorological observations; planning and formulation of new river valley projects; machinery and equipment planning; project appraisal and monitoring of water resources projects; flood management; dam safety; design and consultancy for projects in India and abroad; and international negotiations for Indus and Ganga basins with neighbouring countries. While that covers almost the entire spectrum of water resources management, he is particularly noted for his work in Design of Hydromechanical equipment for all types of Water Resources Projects and in the field of Dam Safety.
In 2007 he was elevated to the Ex-Officio post of Additional Secretary to Government of India, and was posted first as Chairman of the “Ganga Flood Control Commission”, and then as Member (D&R), CWC.
An active professional, Shri Bajaj is Vice President of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage; is a life member and presently the President of the Indian Water Resources Society; member of Institution of Engineers; chairs the Indian National Committee for Irrigation and Drainage (INCID), the Water Resources Division Council of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the Indian National Committee for Hydrology (INCOH) and quite a few others. He has presented papers in many international and national conferences and seminars and has traveled to many countries.
Shri Bajaj is also a keen sportsperson who has played badminton at competitive levels, has promoted annual competitive sports events in CWC, and has encouraged CWC to participate in inter-ministry tournaments where CWC sportspersons have brought laurels by winning many prizes. The officers of CWC look upto him as a team leader with humane qualities.