Hon’ble Union minister of Jal Shakti announces 5th National Water Awards:Odisha rank 1st in the list of best state

New Delhi :14/10/24: Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri CR  Paatil announced the list of winners of 5^th National Water Awards, today, at Shram Shakti Bhawan New Delhi.

The Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD &GR),  under the Ministry of Jal Shakti announced the 38 winners, including joint winners, for the 5^th  National Water Awards, 2023, in 09 categories viz Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best School or College, Best Industry, Best Water User Association, Best Institution (other than school or college), and Best Civil Society. The list of winners is annexed.

In the category of Best State, the first prize has been conferred upon Odisha, with Uttar Pradesh securing the second position, and Gujarat and Puducherry jointly securing the third position.

Each award winner will be conferred with a citation and a trophy as well as cash prizes in certain categories.

The Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD &GR), announced that award distribution ceremony for the 5^th National Water Awards, 2023 is going to be held on 22^nd October 2023 at 11.00 am at Plenary Hall, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu will be the Chief Guest at the event.

Hon’ble Ministers of State for the Ministry of Jal Shakti Shri Raj Bhushan Chaudhary and Shri V Somanna, Secretary Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation Smt Vini Mahajan, Secretary Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD &GR),  Smt Debashree Mukherjee, OSD to Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation Shri Ashok K.K Meena and other Senior officials of Ministry of Jal Shakti joined the Cabinet Minister in announcing the National Water Awards.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti serves as the central ministry entrusted with the responsibility of establishing policy frameworks and implementing programs for the development, preservation, and efficient management of water as a national asset. Under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has been undertaking a comprehensive campaign to spread awareness about water management and water conservation on a national level. From this standpoint and to create awareness among the people about the importance of water and to help motivate people to adopt the best water usage practices, the 1st National Water Awards were launched in 2018 by the DoWR, RD & GR. The 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th National Water Awards were given for the years 2019, 2020 and 2022. The awards were not given in the year 2021 due to CoVID pandemic.

For the year 2023, 5^th National Water Awards were launched on 13^th October 2023 on Rashtriya Puraskar Portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). A total of 686 applications were received. The applications were scrutinised and evaluated by a Jury Committee. The ground truthing of the shortlisted applications was carried out by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). Based on the ground truthing reports, a total of 38 winners, including Joint winners, covering 09 different categories have been selected for the 5^th NWA, 2023.

The National Water Awards (NWAs) focus on the good work and efforts made by individuals and organisations across the country in attaining the government’s vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’. The awards are for creating awareness among the people about the importance of water and motivating them to adopt the best water usage practices. The event provides an occasion for all people and organizations to further cement a strong partnership and people’s engagement in water resources conservation and management activities.

Best State: Odisha 1st Rank
Best District: Balangir (Odisha) East zone

Best Urban LocalBody: Puri, Odisha 2nd rank
Best School orCollege: Khairbani Ashram School,
Baisinga, Mayurbhanj, Odisha3rd Rank