Union Jal Shakti Minister Announces 3rd National Water Awards; In the Best State Category Uttar Pradesh Awarded First Prize, Rajasthan Second and Tamil Nadu Third

Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced 3^rd National Water Awards-2020, here today.  In the Best State category, Uttar Pradesh has been awarded first prize, followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Ms. Vini Mahajan, Secretary, DDWS was also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shekhawat stated that water is fundamental to life. India’s current water requirement is estimated to be around 1,100 billion cubic meters per year, projected to go up to 1,447 billion cubic meters by 2050. Water as a resource is crucial to India, which is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. While India has more than 18% of the world’s population, it has only 4% of world’s renewable water resources. It is in this backdrop that the National Water Awards (NWA) were instituted 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’, stated the minister.

The Union Minister said that considering the fact that surface water & ground water are integral part of the water cycle, it was felt necessary to institute a unified National Water Award with the objectives of encouraging the stakeholders to adopt holistic approach towards water resources management in the country. Also, it strives to create awareness among the people about the importance of water and attempts to motivate them to adopt best water usage practices, added the minister.

The first National Water Award was launched by the Jal Shakti Ministry in 2018. National Water Awards have provided a good opportunity to start-ups as well as leading organizations to engage and deliberate with senior policymakers on how to adopt the best water resources management practices in India.

To encourage and recognize individuals and organizations doing exemplary work in the field of water resources management, the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti is giving 57 awards to States, Organizations, Individuals etc. in 11 different categories – Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Media (Print & Electronic), Best School, Best Institution/RWA/Religious organization for Campus usage, Best Industry, Best NGO, Best Water User Association, and Best Industry for CSR Activity. Some of these categories have sub- categories for different zones of the country. The award winners in different categories will be given a citation, trophy and cash prize.

The list of awardees in various categories is given at Annexure-A.

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Annexure – A

National Water Awards 2020

List of winners