THE TEAM

Dr. B.P. Nilaratna IAS (Retd.), Senior Advisor

A Law graduate from University of Delhi, Masters in Physics from I.I.T Kanpur and a Doctorate in Physics from University of Leeds, UK.He also holds a D.Litt. in Economics. He has 34 years of administrative & scientific experience. He is a former Joint Secretary to Ministry of Environment & Forest, Government of India, and has led several Indian delegations in his official capacity including Meeting of Parties, Regional Meetings and Executive Committee Meetings of Montreal Protocol under United Nations Environment Programme. Dr.Nilaratna has been the National Focal Point for Ozone and Montreal Protocol and for Mangroves and Coral Reefs in India. He was also the National Project Director for UNDP-GEF Project on Medicinal Plants. He has to his credit numerous publications on a variety of subjects including Mangroves & Coral Reefs in India and a number of research papers on energy, ozone & chemicals management.

He enjoys travelling and reading books.

+91-9810614775
Email: dr.b.p.nilaratna@gmail.com

Dr.Arvind Jha

A law graduate with Masters in Forestry (AIFC) , Physics, and Sociology. He has been in the Indian Forest Service for over 35 years in various capacities in the Government of Maharashtra and Government of India. He was awarded PhD on his research on the implication of Wildlife Act of India on the livelihood systems of the erstwhile criminal and hunting tribes called 'Pardhi'. He worked as Commissioner in the Tribal Development Department of Maharashtra State Government and also as the CITES Management Authority for the Western Zone of India at Mumbai airport. He is a member of various prestigious organisations including CEM (Commission on Ecosystem Management), IUCN; among others. He is also the Chairman, Techno Legal Advisory Committee, Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board.

Dr. Jha is an avid lover of wildlife with special interest in intersectoral issues pertaining to conservation of natural resources.

9822601595
Email: arvind@eldfindia.com

Dr. Geeta Vaidyanathan - Senior Advisor

Trained as an architect, she diversified into small-scale livelihood-technologies and rural habitats. After graduating in Architecture from MS-University-Baroda (1988,) she worked in the fields of energy-in-building and appropriate-technology (1990-2000). She earned her Masters in Environmental Studies (2002) and Ph.D. in Geography (2009) from the University-of-Waterloo, Canada. Her Post-Doctoral studies at University-of-Guelph, Canada (2015) was on Innovations-for-sustainability among micro and small enterprises.
Since 2004, she been working on implementation of village-level bioenergy applications in tribal Odisha (seeded through World-Bank's Development-Marketplace-Award, DM2003), and in other parts of India, through the Canadian not-for-profit CTx GREEN that she co-founded with her partner, Dr. Ramani Sankaranarayanan. CTx GREEN has worked with over 30 NGOs, Universities, Policy Advocacy Firms and bilateral/multilateral funding agencies in the promotion of small-scale decentralized biofuel projects that are producer-centric.

Geeta has also taught at the Faculty of Architecture at Sri Sri University, Cuttack, Odisha, from 2015 -2021 and continues to be affiliated with the University.


Email: geeta.vaidyanath@gmail.com

Shubhashis Rasik Soren

Shubhashis Rasik Soren  is a graduate in Political Science Hons. and thereafter in LLB from Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi. After practicing at the Delhi bar and Supreme Court for a few years, he joined the Jharkhand Judicial Services as Civil Judge, however, in order to pursue his passion for Constitutional Law and Environmental Laws, he once again joined the bar at Jharkhand High Court. He is committed towards cultural preservation which is a constitutional right, which he believes can in turn protect environment and secure sustainable development.

Shubhashis is a singer, guitarist, drummer and also plays piano and also enjoys traveling and meeting new people.

+918527929297
Email: shubhashis@eldfindia.com

Eisha Krishn

Eisha Krishn is a graduate from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. Eisha has deep interest in resolving environmental disputes through the tool of law and has been advocating the cause of environment since her college days. Her areas of interest include laws relating to Environment, Wildlife and Protected Areas.

Eisha is an animal lover and has passion for music and travelling.

+919717725306
Email: eisha@eldfindia.com

Kazi S.Thupden

Kazi S.Thupden is a law graduate from ICFAI University (gold medallist), He also holds an MBA degree from Sikkim Manipal University. Prior to his foray into the field of litigation with ELDF, he was serving the High Court of Sikkim as the Officer on Duty/Deputy Registrar. He has also served as a Law Clerk to the Hon'ble Justice's M.M Rai and B.R.Pradhan, in the same High Court. His areas of interest include Forestry Laws, Constitutional issues, Environmental Clearance.

He is a silver medalist in the National Kickboxing Championships, multiple time medalist in the State Karate Championships and a WAKO certified Referee/Judge in Kickboxing. He also takes keen interest in jurisprudence and legal history.

+919609860216
Email: sangay@eldfindia.com

Salik Shafique

Salik Shafique  graduated from Amity Law School, Noida and completed his Masters of Law from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Salik has interned in the field of environmental law since his college days. He has also been a part of government programmes in implementation of legislations. His areas of interest include Environment Protection, infrastructure development, compulsory afforestation, governance and environment clearance.

Salik loves to travel and explore.

+918527929297
Email: salik@eldfindia.com

Mansi Bachani

Mansi Bachani  is a recent Postgraduate (medallist) from the TERI School of Advanced Studies and has a BA LLB from Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Mansi has also participated in various moot court competitions during her graduation and was awarded the DAAD scholarship for undertaking a comparative study of Indian and Germany laws. Her areas of Interest include Environment Protection, Biodiversity, Forest, Climate change and Energy.

Mansi is a trained kathak Dancer, an avid reader of crime-based novels and loves to go for trekking expeditions.

+91 8600531203
Email: mansi@eldfindia.com

Gitanjali Sanyal

Gitanjali Sanyal is a graduate from Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam. She developed an interest in environmental laws during the penultimate year of her law school and has since worked in the area of animal welfare. She has a keen interest in contributing to the field of sustainable development through the tool of law and her areas of interest include laws relating to Environment Protection, Oceans and Coasts and Wildlife.

Gitanjali enjoys reading and learning about different cultures. She also considers herself an animal lover.

+91 8777385984
Email: gitanjali@eldfindia.com

Ananda Banerjee

Ananda Banerjee  Award-winning Journalist, Author, Graphic Artist and Communications Specialist with 26 years of professional experience. Ananda Banerjee has been a part of several leading organizations to give a voice to important environmental and development trends, through his research, writing and artwork. He has been a communications consultant for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India; World Bank; project planning process; and Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement Project (BCRLIP). In 2022, he was part of the Executive Management Team as Director (Communications & Campaign) at the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). As Consulting Editor Special Projects at Outlook Magazine Group, he conceptualised and created the environmental platform 'Planet Outlook' in 2020-21. Ananda is also associated with the Environment Law and Development Foundation where he co-founded 'Paryavidhi' - Environmental Law Quarterly magazine. He has been instrumental in the editorial/design/production of two periodicals on tiger conservation -'Tiger Link' (WWF-India), 'Stripes' (National Tiger Conservation Authority) and 'GTF News' (Global Tiger Forum) amongst other publications for the National Tiger Conservation Authority. His interest lies in environmental economics, sustainable development and ecological restorations.  Website: https://anandabanerjee.com


Email: anandabanerjee@outlook.com

Hitesh Arora

Head Accountant

Hitesh Arora  Head Accountant, graduated from Delhi University in 2004, and has been engaged with ELDF for the better part of the last decade. Hitesh Arora has also a keen interest in playing the Table Tennis



+919818694830
Email: account@eldfindia.com