“Maharashtra has been named the Best State, followed by Gujarat and Haryana,” the ministry said in a press statement.
FIle Photo: IANS
President Droupadi Murmu will present the 6th National Water Awards 2024 at a ceremony scheduled on November 18 at Vigyan Bhawan here, the Ministry of Jal Shakti announced on Tuesday.
Union Minister of Jal Shakti C R Paatil declared the list of 46 winners, including joint awardees, during a press conference held at Shram Shakti Bhawan. The awards, instituted by the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), recognise outstanding efforts in water conservation and management across ten categories.
Advertisement
“Maharashtra has been named the Best State, followed by Gujarat and Haryana,” the ministry said in a press statement.
Advertisement
Under the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari 1.0 (JSJB) initiative, states are divided into five zones, and the districts are encouraged to construct a minimum of 10,000 artificial recharge and storage structures. This number is 3,000 for the districts in North-Eastern and Hilly States, while it is 10,000 for Municipal Corporations nationwide. The structures include those for rooftop rainwater harvesting, as well as the rejuvenation of lakes, ponds, and stepwells.
To strengthen urban water conservation efforts, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs partnered with the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Through this collaboration, Urban Local Bodies are motivated to construct at least 2,000 recharge structures each.
A total of 100 awards have been announced this year. These include three top-performing states, 67 Districts, six municipal corporations, one urban local body (ULB), two partner ministries/Departments, two industries, three NGOs, two philanthropists, and 14 nodal officers.
A total of 751 applications were received through the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs. After evaluation and field verification by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), 46 winners were selected for their exemplary initiatives.
Among the key awardees, Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh, Khargone in Madhya Pradesh, Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, and Sepahijala in Tripura were recognised as the best-performing districts.
Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra topped among urban local bodies, while IIT Gandhinagar in Gujarat and ICAR–CCARI, Goa shared the award for best institution.
The Best Village Panchayat award went jointly to Dubbiganipalli in Andhra Pradesh and Payam in Kerala.
Launched in 2018, the National Water Awards aim to encourage community participation and sustainable water management, supporting the government’s vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’ under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Advertisement
