Bhubaneswar: Odisha was conferred with National Water Award-2022 at a function in New Delhi on Saturday.
Additional chief secretary and Development Commissioner Anu Garg received the prestigious award from Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar at the 4th National Water Awards ceremony held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
The awardees were selected by the Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD &GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti on variouos parameters.
Odisha was selected as the second best state while Madhya Pradesh was the best state. The third best state award was shared by Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
The Best District was presented to Odisha’s Ganjam district. Jagannadhapuram village panchayat of Bhadradri Kothagudem district in Telangana got best village award while Best Urban Local Body award went to Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.
On June 15, the Department had announced 41 winners for the awards in 11 categories. Each award winner was conferred with a citation and a trophy as well as cash prizes.
The awards focus on encouraging the good work and efforts made by various individuals and organisations as part of the ongoing nationwide drive to realise the government’s vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’ or ‘Water Prosperous India’. It seeks to create awareness among people about the importance of water and motivate them to adopt best water use practices, said a release of the department.