Ministry of Jal Shakti10-February, 2022 18:19 IST
Awards for Water Conservation

Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments with the technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes of Central Government. Various steps taken by the Government for water conservation are as below:

  1. National Water Policy (2012) advocates conservation, promotion and protection of water.
  2. In rural areas, Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is major scheme driving water conservation and water harvesting efforts.
  3. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) implements Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) in municipal areas which inter-alia includes water source conservation as one of the project component.
  4. Unified Building Bye Laws (UBBL) of Delhi, 2016, Model Building Bye Laws (MBBL), 2016 and Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014 has been formulated with adequate focus on water conservation measures.
  5. Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared by Central Ground Water Board with the objective of construction of rain water harvesting structures thus promoting water conservation.
  6. A Model Bill has been circulated to all the States/UTs to enable them to enact suitable ground water legislation aimed at water conservation. So far, 19 States/UTs have adopted and implemented the ground water legislation.
  7. States/ UTs have been advised to enable Rural Local Bodies (RLBs)/ Panchayats to utilise 15th Finance Commissions grants to take up rain water harvesting in Government buildings like panchayat, bhawans, anganwadis, Primary Health Centres etc.
  8. Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has issued directives to all States/UTs to take measures to promote/adopt artificial recharge to ground water /rain water harvesting. It grants permits for use of ground water with mandatory conditions for conservation, augmentation and efficient use of ground water.
  9. Ministry of Jal Shakti has been implementing various schemes/ campaigns for promoting water conservation which includes Jal Shakti Abhiyan-2019, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain–2021, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), Atal Bhujal Yojana, National Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM) etc.
  10. Ministry of Jal Shakti organizes workshops and webinars to stimulate awareness, build capacities of stakeholders and encourage people to become active participants in conservation of water. Besides, regular training programmes are also held for capacity building and awareness creation of stakeholders on various aspects of water conservation and rainwater harvesting. In addition, mass awareness programmes are conducted from time to time each year under the Information, Education & Communication (IEC) Scheme in various parts of the country to promote rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge of groundwater.

The First National Awards (NWAs) were launched in 2018, the second series of National Awards was given on 01.09.2019 and third series of National Water Awards was given on 10.12.2020. The awards are focused on recognizing good work and efforts by individuals and organisations and to create awareness among people about importance of water including water conservation. Criteria for third NWAs is annexed.

This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written  reply in Lok  Sabha today.

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Annexure

Criteria for various Categories of National Water Awards, 2020

  1. Best State:

Criteria

Marks
  1. Preparation or Revision of State Water Policy document.

5
  1. Follow-up action in implementation of water policy document - Concrete steps and conspicuous impact.

5
  1. Creation of Water Regulatory Authority and Exhaustive note on achievements of water resources regulatory authority.

10
  1. Minor Water Conservation Interventions – Furnish Techno – Physical Details

10
  1. Medium & Major Irrigation ventures – Furnish Project-wise Technical Note. (Performance evaluation and benchmarking will be taken into account for marking)

5
  1. Ground Water Aquifer Mapping and subsequent Recharge plans prepared based on such mapping with high resolution hydro-geological studies.

5
  1. Irrigated area transformed from conventional to micro irrigation (Irrigated area of existing projects and that of individual beneficiaries both, exclusively) and Utilization of water thus saved owing to this switch over.

5
  1. Number of active Water User Association and support provided.

5
  1. New projects with micro irrigation systems.

5
  1. Rehabilitation/Renovation/Restoration of old and existing projects - Enhancement in project efficiency. (Furnish comparison of pre and post authentic data viz:- enhancement in storage, regaining of lost irrigation potential i.e. ICA, restoration of projected irrigation intensity, improvement in feeding tail command, reduction in losses & prodigality etc.)

10
  1. Scientific treatment and restoration of degraded drainage areas targeting conduciveness in natural recharge phenomenon, reviving liveliness of streams and micro conservation etc. (Furnish narrative note elaborating strategy &methodology adhered upon, configuration of interventions, implementation, and provisions to ensure sustainment of interventions etc. duly accompanied with data of achievements.)

10
  1. Treatment and reuse of domestic, commercial sewage and Industrial effluent.

10
  1. Roof top rain water harvesting, including traditional structures in prevalence in rural India.

5
  1. Management and utilization of data/IT technology in water auditing, water conservation & irrigation management including ground water monitoring & assessment. A narrative note on application of water audit results and conspicuous impact of technological advancement & IT applications etc. in overall perspective.

(Note: This includes urban water management, data management (water) and NHP related activities/progress)

10

Total Marks

100
   

2. Best District:

Criteria

Marks
  1. Efforts made for Rejuvenation of Rivers, restoration of river banks and preservation of flood plains.

10
  1. Creation of Artificial Recharge Structures and maintenance, upkeep and maintenance of existing recharge system.

10
  1. Water bodies mapped, entered in revenue records and revived in the District.

10
  1. Micro water storage structures created with storage capacity (MST/MIT like structures)

5
  1. Use of Micro Irrigation and area added during the last year.

10
  1. Roof top rain water harvesting and traditional rain water harvesting structures in numbers and storage capacity along with functional status and water use details.

10
  1. Measures adopted for protecting recharge areas of springs and maintenance of the water quality of the springs/ ground water resources.

5
  1. Pollution abatement steps, including recycle and reuse of waste water. Efforts made to be duly substantiated with data.

10
  1. Removal of encroachments and illegal infringements in catchment vis-a-vis waterways (like sand mining, etc). Furnish details and positive impacts thereof.

10
  1. Number of trees planted, and maintenance mechanism for survival for trees.

5
  1. Mass sensitization and capacity building in water conservation and management, including water budgeting. Furnish details of activities and impact thereof.

5
  1. Leadership and innovation exhibited by the District Administration to involve community in the activities mentioned 1-11 above.

10

Total Marks

100

 

3. Best Village Panchayat:

Criteria

Marks
  1. Number of water bodies revived with community participation.

20
  1. Innovative practices for enhancing groundwater. Furnish data & documents to substantiate.

10
  1. Number of new water conservation structures and their storage capacity.

10
  1. Community mobilization for adopting of water efficient cropping pattern, and efficient water management practices, and results thereof.

20
  1. Water Shed development activities (contour bunding/trenching), and tree plantation.

10
  1. Number of new ponds created and capacity in Cum., and mechanism for sustainment of creations.

20
  1. Mass sensitization and capacity building in water conservation and management, including water budgeting. Furnish details of activities and impact thereof.

10

Total Marks

100
  1. Best Urban Local Body (ULB):

Criteria

Marks
  1. Performance of the ULB in Water Supply & Distribution against the prescribed Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs) viz. Coverage & extent of metering of water connections, and continuity of water supply, Per capita supply of water, Extent of Non-revenue Water (NRW) (including leakages/losses), Quality of water supplied (meeting the BIS-10500 drinking water quality norms), Cost recovery in water supply services; Efficiency in collection of water supply charges, Water audits conducted (frequency of audits & performance report) & efficiency in redressal of customer complaints, O&M and Use of IT based intervention for performance enhancement in water supply & distribution.

40
  1. Performance of the ULB in Sewerage Management against the prescribed Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs) viz. Coverage of toilets & sewage network as well as collection efficiency of the sewage network, Adequacy of sewage treatment capacity and quality of sewage treatment (against norms), Extent of reuse and recycling of sewage, Efficiency in collection of sewage charges, Extent of cost recovery in sewage management and redressal of customer complaints.

30

 
  1. Water conservation interventions undertaken viz. Roof top Rain Water Harvesting structures and storage capacity created, (Number of structures erected/created and practical state of functioning and associated impacts),Revival of traditional water bodies/ponds/lakes/springs/others, (Practical achievements in terms of number of interventions/area revived/capacity created/communities benefitted/sustainability/other associated benefits), Innovative interventions for groundwater recharge/replenishment undertaken, (Practical achievements in terms of no. of interventions/quantum of water recharged/increase in GW level/other associated benefits).

20

 

 
  1. Leadership exhibited by the ULB Administration to involve community in all aspects of improving water conservation and mass sensitization & public awareness programs and capacity building of the staff. (Furnish details of activities and impact thereof)

10

Total Marks

100

 

  1. Best Media (Print and Electronic):

Criteria

Marks
  1. Number of meaningful articles published or programmed aired on water conservation and management.

25
  1. Content related to water issues.

25
  1. Circulation of the newspaper &magazine/ reach of electronic media.

25
  1. Positive impact & consequences of reporting.

25

Total Marks

100

 

  1. Best School:

Criteria

Marks
  1. Presence of a water action plan with well-defined and achievable targets.

15
  1. Setting up a water collection system (roof-top and pits etc.) to gather rain water for watering plants and other non-potable uses.

15
  1. Number of trees planted in the school premises and outside.

15
  1. Install low-flow water saving devices in washrooms and campus.

10
  1. Number of Painting, Essay and Debate competitions organized to promote water conservation and management activities.

25
  1. Number of innovative works and activities done (not covered in other criteria) to promote water conservation and management activities.

10
  1. Voluntary work done by the school students outside their school for water conservation and management activities.

10

Total Marks

100

 

  1. Best ‘Institution/RWA/Religious Organization’ for Campus usage:

Criteria

Marks
  1. Number of Roof top rain water harvesting structures created in numbers and storage capacity and functional status and how water was used. Furnish complete details.

15
  1. Quantity of water saved by implementing water conservation and management activities (other than roof-top RWHS). Furnish details.

15
  1. Number of awareness activities for water conservation and management and its conspicuous impact.

15
  1. Efforts made for cleaning water bodies/storages. Furnish details.

15
  1. Number of trees planted and survived and mechanism for ward, watering & upkeep of plants.

15
  1. Achievements in the context of liquid sewage collection, transmission, treatment, recycle and reuse duly substantiated with data.

15
  1. Any other innovative/unique work done on water conservation and management.

10

Total Marks

100

8. Best Industry:

Criteria

Marks
  1. Corporate commitment to water efficiency - Designate a water efficiency coordinator, Develop a mission statement and a plan, Educate and involve employees in water efficiency efforts, awards given in your company for identifying and innovative solutions to reduce water consumption.

15
  1. Water Audit and setting targets for future.

15
  1. Installation of high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, appliances and other equipment yielding substantial savings on water.

15
  1. Installing and maintaining ETP (effluent treatment plant) and STP (sewage treatment plant) in industry area to treat waste water and its reuse. (Achieving the zero liquid discharge mandates).

15
  1. Installation of water treatment (other than ETP/STP) mechanisms like Reverse Osmosis and other relevant treatment mechanisms.

15
  1. Efforts in saving of non-processed water.

15
  1. Narrate any other implemented ways of saving water in your industry/ innovations.

10

Total Marks

100
  1. Best NGO:

Criteria

Marks
  1. Details of work done in the areas of water conservation and management. Furnish exhaustive note to substantiate claim/version along with resources mobilizing details.

20
  1. Innovative/Unique technologies adopted/implemented. Research and Development efforts made. Furnish complete details on techno-economic viability and adoption feasibility etc. complete.

20
  1. Water bodies revived with data of additional storage created and its use with details of beneficiaries.

10
  1. Micro water storage structures created with storage capacity with water use strategy.

10
  1. Roof top rain water harvesting and traditional rain water harvesting structures in numbers and storage capacity in Cum.

10
  1. Recorded benefits of water harvested from Roof top duly substantiated with requisite data.

10
  1. Awareness campaigns done resulting in mass participation. Details thereof

10
  1. Any Capacity building done and the conspicuous impacts thereof.

10

Total Marks

100

10. Best Water User Association:

Criteria

Marks
  1. Number of members. Furnish tree chart and details of configuration.

10
  1. Area under Agriculture, CCA, ICA, Irrigation intensity.

10
  1. Water supplied to meter and levy collected.

10
  1. Upkeep and Maintenance of infrastructure.

10
  1. Water use efficiency achieved.

10
  1. Uniformity and parity of distribution in the regime of WUA.

10
  1. Adoption of Micro Irrigation.

15
  1. Cognizance to soil health card.

10
  1. Adherence to recommended/stipulated cropping pattern according to water availability.

10
  1. Exercising checks on prodigality coupled with recycle and reuse of waste water.

5

Total Marks

100

11. Best Industry for CSR Activities:

Criteria

Marks
  1. CSR amount spent in the last one year on water conservation and management, give percentage share of TOTAL CSR provision. Furnish details of financial & other resources contribution in monetary terms to other institutions and amount spent by industry itself on water conservation interventions.

30

 
  1. Types and details of activities implemented in water conservation and management under CSR in the last one year.

20
  1. Number of people benefitted with the activities implemented under CSR in the last one year.

20
  1. Any innovative technology promoted under CSR in the last one year.

10
  1. Any capacity building effort for community done under CSR in the last one year.

10
  1. Any other impacts/outcomes of the activities taken up under CSR in the last one year.

10

Total Marks

100

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BY/AS


(Release ID :231865)