Dr Ramnath Sonawane

Profile

Dr Ramnath Sonawane has spent nearly 35 years in urban management, infrastructure planning and implementation. He has served as Municipal Commissioner of Kalyan-Dombivli, Jalgaon and Ulhasnagar, Additional Commissioner of Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Chief Executive Officer of Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation, and Secretary of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority. He began his career as a college lecturer and as Chief Officer of municipal councils in Dhule district.

His experience runs across the laws governing citizens' rights and local governments, municipal finance, and resettlement and rehabilitation under Government of Maharashtra policy and World Bank guidelines. He has taken part in national and international conferences as a delegate, speaker, panelist and moderator, and is registered as an Independent Director.

Today he writes handbooks and legal compendiums that turn municipal Acts, rules and court judgments into usable procedure, and trains the officers who apply them: Municipal Commissioners, Chief Officers, designated officers, town planners and legal practitioners.

Career

1. Mar 2024 – Feb 2025

   Senior Director, Institutional Relations

   MIT World Peace University, Pune

   Collaboration with government, national and international agencies, and the institute's social initiatives.

2. Feb 2020 – Feb 2024

   Secretary

   Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority

   Assisted the Authority in fixing the Bulk Water Tariff Order, deciding appeals and petitions, clearing water resource projects, and preparing its annual and audit reports.

3. Jul 2017 – Feb 2020

   Chief Executive Officer

   Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation

   Implementation of the Smart City project under the Smart Cities Mission of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.

4. Apr 2016 – Jun 2017

   Additional Municipal Commissioner

   Nagpur Municipal Corporation

   Town planning, financial management, water supply and sewerage, solid waste management, infrastructure, disaster management and the urban transport undertaking.

5. Aug 2010 – Jan 2015

   Municipal Commissioner

   Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation

   Chief executive of a corporation with more than 5,000 employees and a budget of over ₹1,100 crore. Led JNNURM water supply, underground drainage and BSUP schemes; raised property tax collection by more than 25% year on year; introduced LBT from 2012-13 with a 20.92% revenue increase. The corporation was ranked 13th on India Today's City Index, ahead of Delhi, and won the award for Best E-Governed Municipal Corporation in India.

6. Oct 2007 – Aug 2010

   Municipal Commissioner

   Jalgaon Municipal Corporation

   Headed an establishment of more than 3,000 employees; completed the 130 MLD water supply scheme; introduced LBT from 2009-10; planned collection and disposal of 220 MT of solid waste a day.

7. Jan 2006 – Oct 2007

   Officer on Special Duty / Chief, Resettlement and Rehabilitation

   Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)

   Resettlement and rehabilitation of 6,000 residential and 900 commercial project-affected households under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and 2,400 under the Mithi River Development Project, working with the World Bank, MCGM, MRVC and Government. Guest speaker at the World Bank's Annual Transport Forum, Washington DC, 2007.

8. Nov 2002 – Dec 2005

   Municipal Commissioner

   Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation

   Served as Additional Municipal Commissioner and as Municipal Commissioner.

9. Dec 1994 – Nov 2002

   Deputy Municipal Commissioner

   Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation

10. 1990 – 1994

    Chief Officer

    Municipal Councils of Dondaicha, Dhule and Amalner

11. 1983 – 1989

    Senior Lecturer

    Modern College, Mumbai; C.D. Jain College of Commerce, Shrirampur

Research

His PhD thesis at North Maharashtra University, Administrative Communication Strategies in Local Self Government, was completed under the guidance of Dr A. G. Khan.

Books

Municipal law and urban management

• Unauthorised Constructions: Legal Provisions and Enforcement Procedures (Urban Issues Handbook Series, Vol 1)
• Compendium on Urban Local Bodies: Legal Framework
• Compendium of Best Practices in Urban Management

Other books

• Administrative Communication Strategies in Urban Local Bodies (Dattsons)
• The Saga of Hindu King: Chhatrapati Shivaji (Paper Towns)
• Lady Diana: Queen of Hearts (Dattsons)
• Capsule, poems (Bookleaf)

Contact

For training invitations, book enquiries or permission to use material from this site, please use the contact form.