The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the 4th National Water Awards on the Rashtriya Puraskar portal. All the applications will be received through the online Rashtriya Puraskar portal (www.awards.gov.in) only. General public may refer to this portal or the website of this Department (www.jalshakti-dowr.gov.in) for further detail. The last date for submitting application is 15^th September, 2022.

Eligibility for the awards:

Any State, District, Village Panchayat, Urban Local Body, Media, School, Institution, Industry, Non-Governmental Organisation, or Water User Association that 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 Media’, ‘Best School’, ‘Best Institution for campus usage’, ‘Best industry’, ‘Best NGO’, ‘Best Water User Association’ and ‘Best Industry for CSR activities’, winners will be felicitated with cash prize along with trophy and citation. The cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rank winners are Rs.2 lakhs, Rs.1.5 lakhs, and Rs.1 lakh, respectively.

Selection Process:

All applications received for the 4th National Water Awards are placed before the Jury Committee which is constituted by the Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation. No Award is conferred except on the recommendation of the Jury Committee. The recommendation of the Committee is submitted to the Union Minister (Jal Shakti) for approval. Thereafter, the names of the winners are announced on a suitable date.

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 first edition of the National Water Awards was introduced in the year 2018 by the Department. The distribution ceremony was successfully organized on 25 February 2019 in New Delhi, and 82 winners under 14 categories were awarded. Thereafter, the 2nd National Water Awards 2019 was successfully organized, and 98 winners under 16 categories were awarded by the Vice President of India on 11-12 November 2020. The 3rd National Water Awards were successfully organized on 29th March 2022 and 57 winners under 11 categories were felicitated with awards by the President of India. 

*****

AS