National Water Awards-2020: UP tops in 'Best State category' followed by Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu

Uttar Pradesh secured the first position among the States in the 3rd National Water Awards-2020, informed the Ministry of Jal Shakti on Friday.

Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced the 3rd National Water Awards-2020 on Friday. In the Best State category, Uttar Pradesh has been awarded first prize, followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Speaking on the occasion, Shekhawat said, "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. While India has more than 18 per cent of the world's population, it has only 4 per cent of the 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'," he stated.

The Union Minister said that considering the fact that surface water and groundwater are an 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 a 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.

Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh has been awarded as the "Best District" followed by Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, Punjab in the Nort Zone. Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, East Champaran in Bihar and Indore in Madhya Pradesh were awarded as the "Best District" in the South, East and West zones respectively. Goalpara in Assam has been awarded as the "Best District" in the North-East zone.

( With inputs from ANI )

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