Prof. H N Chanakya

Prof. H N Chanakya, is one of the foremost experts in India on BIOMETHANATION of MSW, Agri-residues, Industrial Effluents etc. He is a distinguished alumnus of University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore where he completed B Sc & M Sc in Agriculture and pursued his doctorate on Effluent Treatment. He has dedicated his entire professional life to R&D on conversion of waste materials into energy & other useful inputs and is regarded as a hands-on bio-methane expert.

He has championed the S&T and cause of Biomass Biomethanation (anaerobic digestion, AD) and created technologies for sustainable development path for over 40 years in various areas where AD is the most appropriate path. Heading the Biogas Lab, he has also pioneered finding alternative fermentation routes for various feedstocks and developed many AD technologies for biomass /wastewater (idea to product and implementation) which are now growing in demand the solid-state stratified bed, the 3-zone plug flow, biomass biofilm bioreactor for coffee effluents, passive upwelling anaerobic sludge bed reactors, etc. are examples. In addition, digester outputs have been converted to value added products such as mushroom, fiber, enzymes, pest repellent, disinfestants, etc. An urban Lake has been rejuvenated using an on-site passive sewage treatment plant to fill the lake and convert it into a Bird Preserve. The author also chairs/ is member of advisory committees to KSPCB, City Corporation-BBMP, Water Board-BWSSB, State Planning and RDPR in Karnataka amongst other roles for over 15 years.

Honors and awards :

1. Amulya & Vimala Reddy Award for Technologies for Sustainable Development (IISc, 2015)

2. LifeTime Achievement Award for R&D in Urban Waste Management (Govt. of AP & ISMAW Kolkata) at ICONSWM2018

3. Member, Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission (KSPPC, 2019)

4. Chairman, Advisory Committee on Wastewater Treatment, management and reuse (BWSSB – 2020)



Technical Advisory Committees

1. Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (2005 till present

2. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (from 2017, SWM)

3. Apex Committee of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Karnataka

4. Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), (2019 to present)

5. Department of Biotechnology (DBT, MoST, New Delhi, Biofuel Projects)

6. Department of Science and Technology (MoST, New Delhi; SEED Division)