Uttar Pradesh

• 08 Jan 2022

Uttar Pradesh Won First Prize in Water Awards

Why in News

• On January 7, 2022, Uttar Pradesh bagged the first prize in the 'Best State Category' of the Union Ministry of Water Affairs' National Water Awards 2020. Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu bagged the second and third prizes respectively in the Best State (General) category.

Key Points

• This is the third edition of the award given for adopting a holistic approach towards water resource management in India.
• A total of 57 awards were announced in 11 categories, including Best State, District, Panchayat and Best Industry.
• This year in the district category North Zone, the award was given to Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, while Balua of Varanasi won the award for 'Best Gram Panchayat-North Zone'.
• To meet the objective of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of rivers, water quality in major rivers including Ganga has improved significantly in Uttar Pradesh. The State Government has set up 104 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) with a capacity of 3,298.84 MLD (Million Liters Daily) in the State.
• Due to this the streams of the rivers have become uninterrupted and pure and the drains found in the rivers have been closed. Under 'Namami Gange', not only the Ganga, but the condition of all the major rivers including Gomti, Saryu, Yamuna, Rapti have improved due to intensive cleanliness drives.
• The Rural Water Supply Department of the State Government has completed preparations to connect more than 18 lakh families with water supply in the first phase of Har Ghar Nal Yojana under the Jal Jeevan Mission and the Namami Gange program of the Central Government.
• In 2018, the National Water Awards were instituted to recognize and encourage the exemplary work and efforts done by states, districts, individuals and organizations in achieving the vision of a water-rich Indian government across the country.

Uttar Pradesh Gets Five Prestigious e-Governance Awards

Why in News

• Recently, in recognition of the achievements of Uttar Pradesh in digitization and e-governance at the national level, the state has received five prestigious awards in various fields of e-governance, out of which two have been received by the Higher Education Department.

Key Points

• These awards will be presented at a function on 23rd January at MNNIT, Prayagraj.
• The UP-DARPAN Dashboard has been selected for the Excellence Award for Chief Minister. It is a portal facilitating quick and efficient redressal of grievances of citizens. It is being widely used by the people and has provided relief to thousands of complainants.
• The Higher Education Department has received the CSI SIG e-Governance Award 2021 in recognition of its commendable work in two efforts - Digital Library Project and Online NOC and Affiliation System for opening a new college/course.
• So far in the academic session 2021-22, 487 undergraduate NOCs, 431 postgraduate NOCs and 138 affiliations have been given online by the online NOC affiliation portal.
• Two other e-governance portals that are recognized at the national level are 'Mine Mitra' and 'Seva Mitra'. Mine Mitra is an online platform to facilitate online mineral management, online transit pass, online citizen and farmer services like online license, permit, lease and registration etc. to prevent illegal mining and encourage legal mining.
• It also facilitates integrated surveillance and enforcement systems such as automatic check gates, RFID handheld machines for m-checks, minetags, etc. These services and facilities are very useful for the general public, farmers, lessee holders, stockists and transporters.
• Seva Mitra is an online platform to act as a bridge between citizens and skilled workers in both rural and urban areas on a geo-location basis.