Newdelhi:13/10/23:The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the 5th National Water Awards (NWA), 2023 on the Rashtriya Puraskar portal. All the applications for these awards will be received through the online Rashtriya Puraskar portal at the link https://awards.gov.in/Home/Awardpedia. General public may refer to this portal or the website of this Department (www.jalshakti-dowr.gov.in)  for further details. The last date for submitting applications is 15th December 2023

Eligibility for the awards:

Any State, District, Village Panchayat, Urban Local Body, School/College, Institution (other than school/college), Industry, Civil society, Water User Association or an individual who has done exemplary work in the field of water conservation and management are eligible to apply.

Trophy and Citation:

For the categories – ‘Best State’ and ‘Best District’, winners will be felicitated with a trophy and citation. In the remaining categories – ‘Best Village Panchayat’, ‘Best Urban Local Body’, ‘Best      School/College’, ‘Best Institution (other than school/college)’, ‘Best Industry’, ‘Best Civil Society’, ‘Best Water User Association’, ‘Best Industry’, and ‘Best Individual for excellence’ winners will be felicitated with cash prize along with trophy and citation. The cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd winners are Rs.2 lakhs, Rs.1.5 lakhs, and Rs.1 lakh, respectively.

Selection Process:

All applications received for the National Water Awards are scrutinised by a Screening Committee of the DoWR, RD & GR. The shortlisted applications are placed before a Jury Committee headed by a retired Secretary level officer. Thereafter, ground truthing of the shortlisted applications is carried out by the organisations of DoWR, RD & GR viz. Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). Jury Committee evaluate the applications on basis of reports of ground truthing and recommends the winners. The recommendations of the Committee are submitted to the Union Minister (Jal Shakti) for approval. The names of the winners are announced on a suitable date and an award distribution ceremony is organized.

Details of the awards:

The National Water Awards (NWAs) were introduced to recognize and encourage exemplary work and efforts made by States, Districts, individuals, organizations, etc. across the country in accomplishing the government’s vision ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’. It aims to sensitize the public about the importance of water and motivates them to adopt the best water usage practices. The award winners in different categories will be presented with a citation, trophy, and cash prize. The objective of the National Water Awards is to encourage the stakeholders to adopt a holistic approach toward water resource management in the country as surface water and groundwater play a significant role in the water cycle. In order to embrace these objectives, the 1st National Water Awards were introduced in 2018, and distribution ceremony was organized on 25.02.2019 in New Delhi, and 82 winners under 14 categories were awarded.