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Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil said Chhattisgarh secured the second position with 4.05 lakh completed projects, followed by Rajasthan with 3.64 lakh structures.
Patil announced this year’s awards given under the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” campaign.
The awards will be presented by President Draupadi Murmu at the sixth National Water Awards on November 18 along with VL Kantha Rao, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
Launched in Surat in September 2024, JSJB promotes community-led water management through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society model. States were tasked with building a minimum of 10,000 artificial recharge and storage structures, while municipal corporations were required to complete at least 10,000 and urban local bodies (ULBs) 2,000 each.
How are other states performing under this initiative?
Uttar Pradesh dominated the northern region, with Mirzapur topping the list with 35,509 completed works, followed by Varanasi (24,409) and Jalaun (16,279). All three districts will get ₹2 crore each.
Chhattisgarh topped the eastern region with Balod at the first position with 92,742 structures, followed by Rajnandgaon (58,967) and Raipur (36,282).
In the southern region, Telangana districts once again led in the performance metrics – Adilabad topped the list with 98,693 works, followed by Nalgonda (84,827) and Mancherial (84,549).
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East Nimar of Madhya Pradesh ranks first in the western region with 1.29 lakh completed structures, while North Tripura of Tripura leads the category among the northeastern and hill states.
Overall, 67 districts have been selected for the awards in various categories, including districts of Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Cash awards ranged from ₹1 crore to ₹2 crore for top performers, and ₹25 lakh for districts under Category 3.
Raipur Municipal Corporation tops the list of national municipal corporations with 33,082 completed works, followed by Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (14,363) and Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation (14,331). Each will get ₹2 crore.
Among the top 50 non-municipal ULBs, Guna Municipality in Madhya Pradesh stands first with 2,227 works and will get ₹40 lakh.
The ministry also recognized the contribution of the corporate and civil society ecosystem. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Water Mission and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) were named the Best Industry Associations.
Jaltara Save Groundwater tops the NGO category with 8,256 completed tasks, followed by Girganga Parivar and Art of Living, he said.
Matribhoomi and Hasmukhbhai from Gujarat’s philanthropic Karmabhoomi were honored for supporting local water conservation efforts.
Fourteen officials of the Central Water Commission and Central Ground Water Board were recognized for district level coordination in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
A total of 100 awards have been announced this year for states, districts, ULBs, partner ministries, NGOs, industries, philanthropists and nodal officers.