Ritu Maheshwari: Only woman leader in urban planning and public transport industry

Ritu Maheshwari, MD-Noida Metro Rail Corporation & CEO-NOIDA

Mrs. Ritu Maheshwari is a 2003 batch IAS Officer who is currently working as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Noida Authority since June 2019 and Managing Director of Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) since September 2019. This young and dynamic officer has brought about a remarkable change in the functioning of the bureaucracy wherever she has been posted. Known for her principles and professional approach towards her work, Mrs. Maheshwari has stood out as a shining example of how a little sincere effort can bring about a sea of change in any system and improve the lives of the common people.

Mrs. Maheshwari is an IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre and joined the civil services in 2003 after completing a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Punjab Engineering College. Her first major posting was in 2011 when she was posted as the Managing Director of Kanpur Electric Supply Company Limited (KESCO). The debt-ridden utility had run-up losses of nearly 30 percent, brought about by distribution losses, thefts, and tampering of meters. Under the able leadership of Mrs. Maheshwari, KESCO witnessed a major turnaround in fortunes.

After her posting in Kanpur, she excelled and left a mark at all her subsequent postings as District Magistrate of Amroha, Ghazipur, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur and Ghaziabad, before her current posting as CEO / Noida Authority and Managing Director of Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC).

After taking up her responsibility in Noida, Mrs. Maheshwari has transformed this city into a cleaner, greener and vibrant city. Her efforts have borne fruit when recently the Noida Authority was given the Smart City: Empowering India Award by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The Noida authority received awards in two categories; the first in the Best Climate Smart City category for converting 74, 000 street lights in Noida to LED lights and the other in the category of Best Greenfield Smart City for clearing the dumpsite at Sector 54 and converting a wasteland to a wetland through bioremediation technology.

Besides this, Mrs. Maheshwari has also ensured that the aesthetic appeal of the city is enhanced by getting the pillars of flyovers and metro painted in beautiful paintings that depict our culture and at the same time look beautiful and appealing to the visitors of Noida.

Mrs. Maheshwari is known as a highly efficient officer who has brought about a remarkable improvement in the areas in terms of the functioning of the bureaucracy as well as the implementation of innovative ideas to improve the environment of the city and make it cleaner, greener and beautiful. She is definitely an embodiment of today’s empowered woman who is determined to bring about a change in the mindset of a patriarchal set up with her work ethics and professionalism.