Gram Panchayat Chhindiya got National Award for better water conservation and management

• 30 Mar 2022

Why in News?

On March 29, 2022, President Ram Nath Kovind presented the National Award for better water conservation and management to Chhindiya Gram Panchayat of Surajpur district of Chhattisgarh in the category 'Best Panchayat' at the third National Water Award distribution ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Key Points

• Chhindia got the second prize in the category of 'Best Gram Panchayat' under the third National Water Award given by the Union Ministry of Water.
• President Ram Nath Kovind also launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain Campaign 2022, along with felicitating the third National Water Award winners.
• On this occasion the First Information Brochure of the 7th edition of India's International Water Resources Program 'India Water Week-2022' (IWW- 2022) was released. It will be organized from November 1-5, 2022 at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida.
• The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, presented 57 awards in 11 different categories to states, organizations, individuals etc.
• These categories include- Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Media (Print & Electronic), Best School, Best Institution/RWA/Religious Organization for Campus Use, Best Industry, Best NGO, Best Water User in these categories Consortium and best industries for CSR activity.
• In the category of best states, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu got first, second and third prize respectively.
• It is worth mentioning that the first National Water Award was started in 2018 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Jal Jeevan Mission were launched in 2019 to convert the water movement into a mass movement, in which many recharge structures were built and crores of people participated in it.
• Jal Shakti Abhiyan-II: 'Catch the Rain, Where it Falls, When it Falls' was launched by the Prime Minister on March 22, 2021 on the occasion of World Water Day, which was launched in all the districts (rural as well as urban areas) of the country during the pre-monsoon and monsoon period, i.e. from March 2021 to November 30, 2021.
• Some new features have been added in Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain 2022, such as spring shed development, protection of catchment areas, gender mainstreaming in water sector. Gender mainstreaming in the water sector is expected to boost the role of women in water conservation and management.