Our Team

The Driving Force

The Directors of ShelterSquare Foundation bring together decades of experience and knowledge on systemic and interconnected issues with land, housing, finance, labor, migration, informality, gender, climate change and technology. The Directors’ capacities extend from mainstream design practice and community organization to capacity building, research and policy advisory. They are committed and passionate about creating sustainable housing options and pathways for workers, particularly for those in the unorganized sector.

Mahesh Gajera is a development practitioner with more than 22 years of experience. His work portfolio involves leading livelihood interventions and social institution building in the early phase. Community mobilization, developing village plans through participatory rural appraisal, project implementation and monitoring/ evaluation are among his key areas of expertise. He plays a strategic and leadership role around issues of migrants and labour welfare such as housing, occupational safety and health, basic provisioning/ entitlements, skill training and placement etc. and liaisons with key stakeholders such as government line departments, urban authorities, private entities and civil society organizations for bringing social impact through relevant interventions.

Renu Desai is an independent researcher based in Ahmedabad, with an interest in urban transformation, informality and housing, and questions of urban citizenship. She holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of California-Berkeley. Renu’s research investigates both the experiences and practices of negotiating urban life, amongst urban poor communities living in diverse land and housing tenures, as well as aspects of policy, planning, governance and politics that create the conditions for their inclusion / exclusion. She has been deeply involved in studying the housing issues of circular migrant communities in Ahmedabad since 2014. Prior to working independently, she was a research fellow at the Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University, Ahmedabad for several years, including centre coordinator for three years.

Rushil Palavajjhala is co-founder and CEO of Bandhu – an impact-tech start-up that enables low-income workers access to urban jobs bundled with housing; thereby enriching rural-urban migration outcomes (www.bandhu.work). Bandhu has been awarded the Sankalp Global Award 2022, and the HDFC PropTech Award 2022. Rushil holds a Master’s degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wherein he focused on Finance and Tech for Urban Development in the Global South. He has been a Fulbright Scholar and a Rainer-Arnhold Fellow. Rushil also holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture and has worked extensively on the actualization of affordable housing policies (PMAY, India) and large urban development projects in South Asia, East Asia, and the Americas.

Swastik is an urban development and capacity-building expert with 23+ years of experience. His research, practice and teaching portfolio includes land and housing for the urban poor, design and the development sector, evidence-based policy-making, and pedagogy for practitioners. He led several research and policy advisory projects on slum development, affordable housing, rental housing and environmental sustainability for diverse clients and donors. Several of these studies included suggestions for institutional development for housing delivery. He is the Director of Swastik Harish (OPC) Private Limited. He has previously worked for a decade at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru (IIHS), where he led the Urban Practitioners’ Programme (UPP), IIHS’s capacity building and training function, the Design Lab, which focuses on architecture in the development sector, and co-led the urban housing research and practice team.

The Shoulders We Stand Upon

ShelterSquare Foundation benefits from the support of and advice from a multitude of experienced and aligned experts in the field of housing and labor. Two key figures instrumental to setting up SSF and encouraging us to ‘do and learn’ are highlighted below.

Krishnavatar Sharma

Krishnavatar is Co-Founder and Chief Mentor at Aajeevika Bureau after serving as the Director Programmes for 20 years. Krishnavatar brings decades of experience of developing programmes and leading field teams in Aajeevika. He has a deep understanding of community institutions and has been on the forefront of nurturing leadership in organisations of informal sector workers. Krishnavatar was named as the India Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010. He holds a degree in law from Rajasthan University.

Rajiv Khandelwal

Rajiv is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Aajeevika Bureau. In this role he oversees the organisation’s strategies, programmes, liaison, fundraising and capacity building functions. Over the course of his 30 year career, Rajiv has held leadership roles in a range of non-profit organisations, implementing programmes, conducting research and providing advice and guidance to NGOs, donors and government in Rajasthan. Rajiv worked for many years with the tribal communities of Southern Rajasthan, implementing large scale agricultural change programmes. Rajiv was named an Ashoka Fellow (2005) and India Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2010). He holds a degree in rural management from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand.

Housing Experts and Managers

ShelterSquare Foundation is developing a robust and enthusiastic team of experts and managers of housing, for developing and designing interventions, and operating and managing them in the long-term.

Bhagaban Behera

Bhagaban has an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Berhampur University, Odisha. His journey into activism and passion for community service began during his university days, where he was actively involved in student movements, further leading him to engage deeply with societal issues. He has worked as a cinematographer and sound engineer in Odisha and Mumbai on various independent projects. Bhagaban has unique insights and deep-rooted understanding of the lives and challenges of Odia migrant workers. Since early 2024, he has been involved in the day-to-day operations, rent management, grievance redressal and conflict resolution at ShelterSquare Foundation’s Republic Hostel and Mess. He also supports the hostel’s outreach program amongst powerloom workers and loom owners.

Arpita is an architect, urban planner, and researcher with a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Amsterdam. She is an alumnus of the Urban Fellows Programme at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements. Access to affordable, adequate, and climate-resilient housing remains her core areas of interest in arenas of both urban research and practice. Her recent work has been centered around diverse aspects of affordable rental housing and housing management mechanisms in low-income migrant destinations in India. She is currently part of the research, and documentation, management, and capacity development initiatives at SSF. She also works as a Research Associate with Swastik Harish and Associates.

Maheswar Gouda

Maheswar followed the path of many migrant laborers from Odisha by moving to Surat in his teenage years, shortly after completing his matriculation exams. He spent over two decades working in Surat’s power loom units in various roles, and later ran a tea stall for two years. During this period, he became an active member of Pravasi Shramik Suraksha Manch (PSSM). He has closely witnessed the transformation of Surat’s power loom industry and has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by migrant laborers. Since October 2023, he has been involved in the day-to-day operations, rent management, grievance redressal and conflict resolution at ShelterSquare Foundation’s Republic Hostel and Mess. He also supports the hostel’s outreach program amongst powerloom workers and loom owners.

Namrata Sah is an architect with a decade-long expertise in institutional, residential, adaptive reuse of buildings, and social architecture. Some of her research work is focused on understanding how the culture and context affect the rural architecture of Uttarakhand & Rajasthan. In view of the current architectural scenario in rural India, she has identified the need for architectural intervention and collaboration with NGO and Govt. organizations to create well thought out and multifunctional public structures. She firmly believes that ‘any design must be in consonance with the environment, community, and individual aspirations, historical and emotional resonance of a place.’

Support from Aajeevika Bureau

ShelterSquare Foundation also receives crucial support from Aajeevika Bureau’s teams in Ahmedabad, Surat and Udaipur. We are particularly grateful to Sanjay Patel, Jitendra Jain, Siba Malik, Aswin Vadatiya, Sharad Zagade, Saket Sinha, Manish Daxini, Sahista Shaikh and several others who are supporting our initiatives.