The Honorable President of India along with the Honorable Jal Shakti Ministers recognized champions across India in water management and water conservation at the 5th National Water Awards. Arpita Banerjee of CXO News and APAC News Network brings the details from Ground Zero.
The Hon’ble President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, conferred the 5th National Water Awards, 2023 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday. The event was graced by the Union Minister for Jal Shakti, C.R. Paatil, Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Raj Bhushan Chaudhary, Minister of State for Jal Shakti, V. Somanna, various government officials and other dignitaries.
The National Water Awards is an initiative to recognize and inspire the different stakeholders in the water sector to adopt effective water management practices aiming towards a water-secure India. A total of 38 winners, including joint winners across 9 categories, were awarded for their exemplary work in the field of water conservation and management.
Odisha Best State in National Water Awards
Odisha bagged the first position in the state category for exemplary contribution in water conservation. The state created about 53,000 water conservation & rainwater harvesting structures, 10,800 reuse & recharge structures, 68,700 watershed development, and 21,000 wastewater treatment plants as well as renovating 11,000 traditional water bodies.
“We are extremely grateful to the Ministry of Jal Shakti for having acknowledged the efforts of Odisha. We were able to complete a large number of projects, including major and medium ones, which had been pending for a long time. These include the likes of the Haldia Dam or Lower Suktel project in drought-prone district of Balangir.” emphasized Anu Garg, Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources Department, Odisha after receiving the award on behalf of Odisha. The state also worked on water use efficiency, through the lining of canals, as well as using a lot of underground pipelines, he reiterated.. For all these activities Odisha actively involved the community.”
Uttar Pradesh Finishes in Top 2
Uttar Pradesh bagged the second prize in the state category. Under Jal Jeevan Mission in the state, over 1.91 crore households constituting 72.78% of the total rural houses have been provided with tap water. Besides, 133 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), 6 Ganga Biodiversity Parks and 14,679 Amrit Sarovars have been completed for cleaning the Ganga River.
Anurag Srivastava ,Principle Secretary ,Department of Namami Gange & Rural Water Supply, Uttar Pradesh elucidated on the challenges they had to overcome while providing water supply connection to around 27 million households under Har Ghar Jal. “One should never forget that Jal Hi Jeevan hai. Water Conservation is important and water is a priceless resource,” he further emphasized.
“Efforts towards water conservation (Jal Sanchay) have been amplified in Uttar Pradesh fostering community participation with women stakeholders at the forefront have improved the water level in the state,” informed Balkar Singh, Secretary, Department of Namami Gange and Rural Water Supply, Uttar Pradesh. This recognition, according to Singh, will further motivate various departments towards ensuring water conservation.
Other Water Champions Recognized
Gujarat and Puducherry too finished joint third among states in the National Water Awards. The districts in different states too were recognized for their efforts in water management and water conservation. Banda (Uttar Pradesh) and Ganderbal (J&K) from the North Zone (joint winners), Indore (Madhya Pradesh) from the West Zone, Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) from the South Zone, Bolangir (Odisha) from the East Zone and Dhalai (Tripura) from North East zone thr received awards under the Best District category.
Other prominent winners in different categories included Surat (Gujarat) in the best urban local body and Pullampara, Thiruvananthapuram, (Kerala) as the best village panchayat. BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune was recognized as the Best Civil Society, Pentakli Project Union of Water User Association, Buldhana, Maharashtra as the Best Water User Association, and Govt. Upper Primary School, Jethwan Ka Bas, Sikar, Rajasthan as the Best school/college in water management. Last but not the least, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu was recognized as the Best Institution and Aravali Power Company Private Limited, Jhajjar, Haryana as the Best Industry in water conservation and water management..
