Union Minister Jal Shakti CR Patil announced the first-ever Jal Sanchai Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) Awards on Tuesday, with Telangana emerging as the best performer among states and union territories in building water conservancy structures. The awards will be presented by President Draupadi Murmu on November 18, officials said.
Telangana topped the list with construction of water conservation structures worth 5.2 lakh under the JSJB 1.0 initiative, followed by Chhattisgarh (4.05 lakh) and Rajasthan (3.64 lakh).
The JSJB initiative was launched in Surat, Gujarat on September 6 last year.
“Under this initiative, states are divided into five regions, and districts are encouraged to build at least 10,000 artificial recharge and storage structures. This number is 3,000 for districts in north-eastern and hill states, and 10,000 for municipal corporations. The structures include those for rooftop rainwater harvesting and replenishment of lakes, ponds and wells,” the Jal Shakti Ministry said.
“To strengthen urban water conservation efforts, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has partnered with the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Through this collaboration, urban local bodies are incentivized to build at least 2,000 recharging structures each,” he said.
“A total of 100 awards were announced this year. These include three high-performing states, 67 districts, six municipal corporations, one urban local body, two partner ministries/departments, two industries, three NGOs, two charities, and 14 nodal officers… The award winners were selected based on verified data uploaded on the JSJB portal.” Other categories include regions, local bodies, industry associations, non-governmental organizations, and officials.
(Tags for translation) Jal Sanchai Jan Bhagidari Awards
