On 7th January 2022 Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced 3rd National Water Awards-2020.
- Uttar Pradesh (UP) has been awarded first prize in the Best State category, followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu (TN).
- Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh received the best district award in the northern zone followed by Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar in Punjab.
About The National Water Awards (NWA):
Aim – To create awareness among the people about the importance of water and attempt to motivate them to adopt best water usage practices.
i.The National Water Award (NWA) was first instituted by the Jal Shakti Ministry in 2018 to recognize and encourage exemplary work and efforts made by States, Districts, individuals, organizations, etc across the country in attaining the government’s vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’.
ii.The award winners in different categories will be given a citation, trophy and cash prize.
iii.The NWA encourages and recognizes individuals and organizations with exemplary work in the field of water resources management, the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation by giving 57 awards to States, Organizations, Individuals etc. in 11 different categories by the Jal Shakti Ministry.
iv.The 11 categories include – Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Media (Print & Electronic), Best School, Best Institution/Resident Welfare Association (RWA)/Religious organization for Campus usage, Best Industry, Best Non-Government Organisation (NGO), Best Water User Association, and Best Industry for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activity.
- Some of these categories have subcategories for different zones of India.
Facts:
i.India’s current water requirement is estimated to be around 1,100 billion cubic meters per year which are projected to rise up to 1,447 billion cubic meters by 2050.
ii.India has more than 18 percent of the world’s population but has only 4 percent of the world’s renewable water resources.
Note – The Rs 3.6 trillion Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme aims to ensure assured tap water supply or ‘Har Ghar Jal’ to all rural households by 2024.
3rd NWA 2020 – List of awardees in various categories:
| Category | Awardees | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | ||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||
| Best State | UP | Rajasthan | Tamil Nadu | |
| Best District | North Zone | Muzaffarnagar, UP | Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, Punjab | |
| South Zone | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala | Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh | ||
| East Zone | East Champaran, Bihar | Godda, Jharkhand | ||
| West Zone | Indore, Madhya Pradesh | Vadodara, Gujarat (Joint Winner) Banswara, Rajasthan (Joint Winner) | ||
| North-East Zone | Goalpara, Assam | Siang, Arunachal Pradesh | ||
| Best Village Panchayat | North Zone | Dhaspad, Almora, Uttarakhand | Jamola, Rajouri, J&K | Balua, Varanasi, UP |
| South Zone | Yelerampura Panchayat, Tumkur District, Karnataka | Vellaputhur Panchayat, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu | Elappully Grama Panchayat, Palakkad District, Kerala | |
| East Zone | Telari Panchayat, Gaya District, Bihar | Chhindiya Panchayat, Surajpur District, Chhattisgarh | Guni Panchayat, Khunti District, Jharkhand | |
| West Zone | Takhatgarh, Sabarkantha, Gujarat | Kankapar, Kachchh, Gujarat | Surdi, Solapur, Maharashtra | |
| North-East Zone | Sialsir, Sirchip, Mizoram | Aminda Simsanggre, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya | Chambagri, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya | |
| Best Urban Local Body | Vapi Urban Local Body, Gujarat | Dapoli Nagar Panchayat, Maharashtra | Madurai Municipal Corporation, Tamil Nadu | |
| Best Media (Print & Electronic) | Mission Paani (Network 18) | Agrowon, Sakal Media Pvt. Ltd. (Adinath Dattatray Chavan) | Sandesh Daily Bhuj Edition | |
| Best School | Govt. Girls Hr. Secondary School, Kaveripattinam, Tamilnadu | Amalorpavam Lourds Academy, Thiruvalluar, Puducherry | Amity International School, Noida, UP (Joint Winner) Govt. Middle School, Manapet, Puducherry (Joint Winner) | |
| Best Institution/RWA/ Religious organization for Campus usage | Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Jammu | IIT Gandhinagar, Gujarat | Indian Oil Corporation Limited Faridabad | |
| Best Industry | Welspun India Textile Ltd., Gujarat | Hyundai Motor India Ltd., Tamil Nadu | Trident (Textile) Ltd., Punjab (Joint Winner) Steel Authority of India Ltd., New Delhi (Joint Winner) | |
| Best NGO | Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell, Ahmedabad | Vivekananda Kendra NARDEP, Kanyakumari | Gramvikas Sanstha, Aurangabad (Joint Winner) Vivekananda Research and Training Institute, Bhavnagar (Joint Winner) | |
| Best Water User Association | Panchgachiya MDTW WUA, Hooghly, West Bengal | Hatinada Champa Purulia, West Bengal | Amtore Mini River Lift Irrigation WUA, Purulia, West Bengal | |
| Best Industry for CSR activities | ITC Limited, Kolkata, West Bengal | Adani Foundation, Gujarat | HAL, Bengaluru, Karnataka (Joint Winner) Dharampal Satyapal Ltd., Noida, UP (Joint Winner) | |
— UP Wins ‘Best State’ Award for Management of Water Resources
UP has won the first position in the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti’s NWA 2020 in the category of ‘Best State’.
- The Best Village Panchayat – North Zone category was given to Muzaffarnagar, Balua, in Varanasi, UP .
Major Achievements by UP:
i.Effective reduction of pollution in Ganga and also Conservation and Rejuvenation of Ganga. Under Namami Ganga, various drains have been trapped and sewage is treated before being discharged into the river.
ii.The Department of Rural Water Supply has completed preparations to connect more than 18 Lakh families with water supply in the First phase of ‘Har Ghar Nal Yojana’ under the Jeevan Mission and Namami Ganga Programme.
- 104 sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of 3298 million litres per day have been set up leading to a major improvement in the water quality of major rivers including the Ganga.
iii.‘Har Khet Ko Pani’ scheme has been launched to extend irrigation facilities to various areas of UP.
iv.The UP Government is working towards building 269 check dams and 219 ponds.
Recent Related News:
Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State, Ministry of Jal Shakti presided over the virtual launch of Swachh Survekshan Gramin (SSG) 2021 under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II during the event organised by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS)
About Ministry of Jal Shakti:
It was formed in 2019 by integrating with other existing ministries, such as water resources and the ministry of drinking water and sanitation to address all water issues in India.
Union Minister – Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Constituency – Jodhpur, Rajasthan)
Minister of State – Prahlad Singh Patel (Constituency – Damoh, Madhya Pradesh), Bishweswar Tudu ( Constituency – Mayurbhanj, Odisha)
