1. Investigations and Finite Element Method (F.E.M.) based studies of dam distress, and proposals on remedial actions, for: (i) unusual behaviour and distress condition in Idukky Arch Dam; (ii) thermal cracks in Konar Dam.
2. Developed the tool for Integrated River Basin Evaluation (IRBE) as a framework for measuring impact of water resource development and management in basin parts, and assimilating these measures to assess overall impact at the larger river basin level. The framework – published by the World Bank as SAWI Discussion Note – is meant for bringing synergy in River Basin Management (RBM) between co-basin states and/or countries.
3. Designed a heuristic Stakeholder Model to categorize stakeholders along the lines of beneficial and adverse effects, and gauge their capacity to influence changes in the course of project development. It serves as a powerful tool for the investigation, prognostication, redressal, and management of stakeholder issues.
4. Conceptualized, developed and implemented the ‘Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application (DHARMA)’ as a web-based software with decentralized controls. The software enables multilateral collaboration of all dam owning/ operating/ maintaining agencies in creating and managing the nation-wide inventory of India’s dam assets and the dam health data.

1. Enactment of Central Dam Safety Act (2021) of India: Instrumental in formulating and steering the bill through a long process of deliberation with the State Governments, Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Law & Justice, Parliamentary Standing Committee etc. The Bill – aiming for the prevention of dam failure safeguarding life and property of the people and the environment – was passed by both houses of the Parliament leading to enactment of the Dam Safety Act (2021).
2. Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP): Formulation and implementation of the World Bank funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP).  As Project Director, addressed holistically the issues of dam safety and rehabilitation, including: structural integrity, surveillance and maintenance, instrumentation and monitoring, design intrinsic risks, natural hazard risks, emergency and operational planning, environmental management plan, environmental and social management framework, dam health data, proposal reviews through Project Screening Template, contract approvals as per Bank thresholds, project monitoring and audits etc. Adequate provisions were also made for the capacity building of dam owning agencies as well as strengthening the capacity of premier academic institutes. Successful implementation of the ~US$M 437.5 Project, covering 237 dams across 7 States of India, has now translated in continuing of the DRIP (under Phase-II and Phase-III) covering 736 dams across 19 States.
3. Dam Safety: (i) Dam safety inspection of over 300 dams, identification of deficiencies in dam O&M, detection/ analysis of dam distress, and recommendations on remedial measures; (ii) integrated dam break analysis of Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar Projects in Madya Pradesh; (iii) Emergency Action Plans of Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar Projects (MP) and Ukai project (Gujarat); (iv) clearance of Seismic parameter studies of several upcoming dam projects; (v) Crisis Management Plan of Ministry of Water Resources; (vi) guidelines for seismic parameter studies (vii) guidelines for emergency action plan; (viii) study of the failure of Gararda dam in Rajasthan; (ix) study of the failure of radial gate of Pulichintala dam in Andhra Pradesh.
4. Hydrology & Hydraulics: (i) Design flood review of about 190 dams; (ii) backwater studies of SSP (Gujarat), Pollavaran project (AP), Neilla HE Project (Punjab) and Demwe HE Project (Arunachal Pradesh); (iii) power availability studies for truncated scenarios of Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) dam (Gujarat); (iv) RTDAS (Real Time Data Acquisition System) implementation in Narmada basin; (v) operation of Telemetry at 18 stations under Krishna River Management Board (KRMB); (vi) Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) study of Saptkosi & San koshi Projects in Nepal, Lower Siang HE Project and Demwe HE Project in Arunachal Pradesh; (vii) breach study of the landslide blockage on Brahmaputra river; (viii) optimization of flood routing options for revised design flood of Hirakud dam.
5. Structural Designs: (i) Design of miscellaneous types of gates, hoists and supporting structure for a number of North-Eastern projects; (ii) F.E.M. analysis for special studies of dam, powerhouse cavern, penstocks etc.; (iii) F.E.M. analysis for Idukky arch dam; (iv) planning and design of additional spillway for Hirakud dam (Odisha) with integration of tourism; (v) layout and design of Garudeshwar weir; (vi) study of stilling basin damages and remedial measures for truncated height of SSP dam; (vii) design of bridge, building, tunnels etc. at dam site of Dulhasti H.E. Project.
6. Dam Construction: (i) Construction activities of dam blocks, spillways, stilling basin, sluices & spillway gates, instrumentation etc. for main dam of Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP); (ii) pre-construction activities such as diversion channel, foundation excavation, stabilization of slope etc. for Dulhasti HE Project Dam; (iii) investigations for Garudeshwar Weir of SSP; (iv) appraisal of several projects in respect of foundation and geotechnical investigations.
7. H.E. Powerhouse Construction: (i) Civil works of underground powerhouse cavern and electrical works of six units of the 1200 MW river bed powerhouse of SSP, including commissioning of its first two units; (ii) Commissioning and maintenance of five units of 250 MW canal head powerhouse of SSP; (iii) commissioning of 400 KV GIS switchyard and transmission lines of SSP powerhouse; (iv) initial HRT and gate-shaft tunnelling works of Dulhasti HE Project; (v) civil/ electrical works coordination, scheduling, & safety issues in powerhouse construction.
8. Canal Construction: (i) Works of excavation, concrete lining, cross drainage structure, cross-regulators, off-take structures, escapes etc. of the first phase of Narmada main canal (up to 144 km) and branch canals; (ii) canal automation studies for Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) command; (iii) construction and commissioning of irrigation bye-pass tunnel of SSP; (iv) canal breach and special design problems.
9. Estimation & Contracts:  (i) Estimation, preparation of tender document, and finalization of a number of ICB (International Contract Bids) and NCB (National Contract Bids) contracts for civil as well as electrical works of Sardar Sarovar Project; (ii) contracts for hardware/ software procurement, maintenance services; (iii) hiring of consultants for World Bank funded Hydrology Project; (iv) hiring of engineering & management consultant for DRIP; (v) NCB contracts of DRIP dams with costs exceeding Rs. 5 crores; (vi) resolution of old contractual issues for the Telemetry of KRMB.
10. Financial Management: (i) Financial Viability Study of SSP power component; (ii) fund mobilization for SSP; (iii) financing plan for power component of SSP; (iv) booking/ auditing of SSP expenditure; (v) implementation of CWC’s IT scheme under X^th and XI^th Plans; (vi) negotiations, approval and implementation of Rs. 2,100 crore World Bank funded Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project involving multiple project implementing agencies; (vii) Central assistance (@50%) for 87 ongoing CADWM projects with total estimated cost of Rs. 18,000 Crores; (viii) formulation of new plan scheme (ISBIG) for completion of balance CADWM works in 317 projects of 24 States at total cost of Rs. 61,000 Crores with Central share of Rs. 38,000 Crores; (ix) financial assessment for taking over of Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar Projects by KRMB.
11. Environmental Management: (i) Compensatory afforestation, catchment area treatment, minimum downstream flows etc in SSP; (ii) canal-side water logging, command area development & conjunctive use of water; (iii) cost of forest area, and charging of Net Present Value (NPV) of forestland – presentation before expert committee constituted by Supreme Court; (iv) environment and social assessment studies and formulation of environment and social management framework for Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project; (v) participated in United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 23) at Bonn, Germany.
12. Stakeholder Management: (i) Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) of project affected persons of SSP; (ii) activism by NBA and other national & international NGOs against SSP; (iii) issues of (Narmada) canal affected people; (iv) agitation on design of Kuchh Branch Canal; (v) setting up of VSA Committees for participatory irrigation management; (vi) litigations against SSP in Supreme Court of India; (vii) managing of multiple stakeholders, including academic and research institutes, in Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project; (viii) conceptualization and organization of annual Dam Safety Conferences in different States partnering with State water resource departments, academic institutions, and technology providers; (ix) varied aspects of participatory irrigation management, including engagement of social facilitators for capacity building of farmers and WUAs; (x) reviving of the IndiaNPIM Society.
13. Information Technology & Computer Proficiency: (i) development of CADWM-IS portal with online processing of central assistance; (ii) development of ‘Dam Health And Rehabilitation Monitoring Application (DHARMA); (iii) development of software for analysis and design of various types of gates, spillway bridge etc; (iv) supervised development of CWC-Intranet and other custom-made software; (v) application of numerous CAD/ CAE software, including F.E.M. Software - IDEAS and ABAQUS; (vi) well versed with programming language (Fortran/ C/ Pascal/ VB), miscellaneous application software and different platforms.
14. Integrated River Basin Management: (i) Issues of integrated water resources management in Narmada river basin; (ii) in-depth exposure and understanding of numerous interstate river basin conflicts; (iii) performance issues of River Basin Organizations (RBOs); (iv) basin level planning and management of water resources in North Eastern region; (v) development of framework for the Integrated River Basin Evaluation (IRBE).
15. Command Area Development: (i) Head of Command Area Development & Water Management (CADWM) Wing of Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt. of India; (ii) paradigm shift in implementation of CADWM program bringing focus on participatory irrigation management; (iii) promotion of underground pipeline network for sustainable CAD intervention; (iv) extensive use of IT tools for creation of robust MIS, geo-tagging of outlet, online processing of central assistance, tracking compliance of field-inspection observations, development of Water Users Association (WUA) database, and PIM module with value-added information for farmers; (v) formulation of a new Incentivization Scheme for Bridging Irrigation Gap (ISBIG) with added features for reuse of waste water, conjunctive use of groundwater, increased micro-irrigation, solar power for irrigation, automation for introducing control and measurement, and reorientation of Water & Land Management Institutes (WALMIs) for deeper penetration of water education.
16. Interstate Conflicts: (i) Handling of cost sharing disputes on Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP); (ii) conflict on the construction of bye-pass tunnel of SSP; (iii) dispute on works of Mullaperiyar dam and filling of reservoir; (iv) resolution of long-pending issue of sharing of O&M costs of Bansagar Project between States of MP, UP, and Bihar; (v) handling of dispute on sharing of water and construction of new projects on river Krishna between AP and Telangana under KRMB; (vi) handling of issues of reservoir management, power generation, and irrigation releases on common-pool projects of AP and Telangana; (vii) negotiations leading to approval by Board for the prioritized handing-over of Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar Projects to KRMB.
17. Organizational Development: (i) Chaired/ steered several committees and teams for examination and resolution of complex technical and managerial problems; (ii) worked for transparent stakeholder oriented institutional development; (iii) participated in interview/ recruitment boards; (iv) drafted training policy and career progression policy for CWES cadre; (v) developed KRMB’s road-map, including human resources and financial management, for taking-over of Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar Project.

Publications in SCI Journal:

• "Incorporation of Risk Factor in Design Flood Review of Existing Dams", American Journal of Civil Engineering. Vol.5, No.5, September 2017. Page 293-306. doi:10.11648/j.acje.20170505.14.

Publications in refereed Non-SCI Journals:

• “The Stakeholder Model for Water Resource Projects”, Vikalpa, Vol.29, No.1. January – March 2004. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad.
• “The Water Crisis in India: Need For a Balanced Approach”, International Journal of Regulation and Governance, Vol.1, No.2. December 2001. Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi.
• “Dam Safety in India-An Overview”, Water & Energy International, 2011, Volume: 68, Issue: 11. CBIP, New Delhi.

World Bank Publication:

• “Framework for Integrated River Basin Evaluation”, SAWI Discussion Note. April 2019. World Bank, Washington, DC.

Book Chapters:

• "Computerized Accounting System", Class XII Book. January, 2010. NCERT. New Delhi.

Articles in Newspaper and Magazines:

• “India is water stressed not water scarce”, EletseGov Magazine. EletsOnline (https://egov.eletsonline.com/2020/03/india-is-water-stressed-not-waterscarce-dr-b-r-k-pillai/). March 2020. New Delhi.
• Newspaper Interview: Dam Safety Act will bring in unified policies, The Hindu, December 4, 2021 (https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dam-safety-law-will-evolve-unified-policies-protocols-for-the-entire-country-jal-shakti-ministry-official/article37828051.ece).
• “Neutralising Interstate River Disputes, Overcoming Water Crisis”, EletseGov Magazine. EletsOnline(https://egov.eletsonline.com/2022/05/neutralisinginter-state-river-disputes-overcoming-water-crisis/). May 2022. New Delhi.

Seminar Papers:

• “Recourse to Strategic Management through Decentralized Stakeholder Inclusive Water Institutions”, 14th Aqua Congress. October, 2020. New Delhi.
• “Course Correction in India's Drive for Sustainable Water Resource Development & Management”, 13th Aqua Congress. October, 2019. New Delhi.
• “Institutional Reform in Irrigation Sector for Sustainable Agriculture Water Management, including Water Users’ Association”, 23rd ICID Congress. 8-14 October, 2017. Mexico.
• “Investigation of cracks in Konar Concrete Gravity Dam by nonlinear thermo-mechanical analysis”, 3^rd National Dam Safety Conference, 16-17 February 2017. IIT, Roorkee.
• “Incorporation of ‘Risk Factor’ in Design Flood Review of Existing Dams”, 3rd National Dam Safety Conference. 16-17 February, 2017. IIT, Roorkee.
• “State-of-the-Art Instrumentation for Dam Safety-Case Study of Idukki Dam”, 2^nd National Dam Safety Conference, January 2016. IISc, Bangalore.
• “Project Implementation Issues in Rehabilitation of Existing Dams – DRIP Experience”, 2^nd National Dam Safety Conference, January 2016. IISc, Bangalore.
• “Understanding Unusual Behavior of an Arch Dam using FEM Approach”, 2^nd National Dam Safety Conference, January 2016. IISc, Bangalore.
• “Impact of River Debris and Reservoir Sedimentation on Dam Safety at ManeriBhali Stage-I”, 2^nd National Dam Safety Conference, January 2016. IISc, Bangalore.
• “Assessment of Current Material Properties of Aged Concrete Arch Dam – A Case Study”, 2^nd National Dam Safety Conference, January 2016. IISc, Bangalore.
• “Quality Management Systems in Central Dam Safety Organization - The Journey”, 2nd National Dam Safety Conference. January, 2016. IISc, Bangalore.
• “Dam Safety and Climate change - Case Study of Hirakud Dam”, 2 nd National Dam Safety Conference. January, 2016. IISc, Bangalore.
• “A Brief Study of Arch Dams Behaviour”, 1^st National Dam Safety Conference, March 2015. IIT, Chennai.
• “Managing our Water Conservation Assets: Role of Dam Safety”, 1st National Dam Safety Conference. March, 2015. IIT, Chennai.
• "Management of Design Flood Issues in Existing Dams under climate Change", ICOLD – 82nd Annual Meeting. 2-6 June, 2014. Bali.
• “Seismic Design and Safety Aspects of Dam” ISET Journal of EQ Technology, Indian Society of Earthquake Technology, March 2014. IIT, Roorkee.
• "Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project - 270 Dams to be Rehabilitated", Hydropower and Dams Asia Conference. 2014. Colombo.
• "Design Flood Reviews of Existing Dams and Related Risk Mitigation Issues under Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project", Workshop on Design Flood Issues, 19-20 December, 2013. Central Water Commission, New Delhi.
• "Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project", Dam India 2013. 22-23 May, 2013. CBIP, N.Delhi.
• “Water Resources Development and Management – Need for Shift in India’s Policies and Strategies”, India Water Week. 2012. New Delhi.
• "Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project - The New Initiative for Dam Safety in India", India Water Week, 2012. New Delhi.
• “Safety Perspective for Dam Construction – Case Study of Gararda Dam Failure”, India Water Week, 2012. New Delhi.
• “Integrated Dam Break Analysis – Case Study of Indira Sagar & Omkareshwar Projects”, India Water Week, 2012. New Delhi.
• “Case Study of Sardar Sarovar Project – A Steppingstone for Ensuring Future Water Securities”, The 19th Engineering Congress, December 2004. Mumbai.
• “Resolution of Water Conflict through Establishment of Rational Water Rights”, 4th International R&D Conference on Water and Energy for 21st Century, 28-31 January, 2003. Aurangabad.