Khliehrangnah village in West Jaintia Hills has secured the Best Village Panchayat along with three other villages in the country in terms of water conservation efforts and will be presented with the 5th National Water Awards, 2023.
The award distribution ceremony for the 5th National Water Awards, 2023 will be held on October 22 at 11 am at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. President of India Droupadi Murmu will be the chief guest at the event.
The Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti announced the 38 winners, including joint winners, for the 5th National Water Awards, 2023, in nine categories – Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best School or College, Best Industry, Best Water User Association, Best Institution (other than school or college), and Best Civil Society.
Khliehrangnah village along with Pullampara village (Kerala), Masulpani village (Chhattisgarh) and Hampapuram (Andhra Pradesh) were the joint winners in the Best Village Panchayat category.
Khliehrangnah has been recognised for its exemplary water conservation efforts, including the renovation and revival of 20 water bodies, such as 14 springs and six streams.
The village also constructed a dug-out pond with a capacity of 2,400 cubic meters, enhancing the area’s groundwater levels.
Other works like contour trenches, land rehabilitation by afforestation, construction of dug out ponds and rainwater harvesting systems have been implemented by the village for enhancing groundwater.
With sufficient water now becoming available, the whole cultivable command area of 135 hectares has been brought under cultivation, thereby increasing the crop productivity.
In addition, a community-based monitoring system has been established at the village to keep track of water quality, encroachments, and any illegal activities impacting water bodies.
Further, training at the village level including exposure trips to model villages have been imparted which have brought effectiveness and efficiency of the members in undertaking ground water recharge activities.
In the category of Best State, the first prize has been conferred on Odisha, with Uttar Pradesh securing the second position, and Gujarat and Puducherry jointly securing the third position.
Each award winner will be conferred with a citation and a trophy as well as cash prizes in certain categories.
The first National Water Awards were launched in 2018. The second, third and fourth National Water Awards were given for the years 2019, 2020 and 2022. The awards were not given in the year 2021 due to Covid pandemic.
The National Water Awards focus on the good work and efforts made by individuals and organisations across the country in water conservation.
