National Awards 2024, Telangana Dominates Yet Again, Secures Leading Positions Across Multiple Categories

Telangana has secured the top position in the country under the Jal Sanchai Jan Bhagidari initiative, earning first place in the sixth edition of the National Water Awards – 2024, announced by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The programme, launched by the Central Government in 2024, recognises large-scale efforts in community-driven water conservation. Across Telangana, an impressive 5,20,362 works have been completed under this initiative.

President of India Droupadi Murmu presented the awards to the best-performing states during a ceremony today. A total of 100 awards were announced for outstanding contributions by states, districts, urban bodies and other stakeholders. These include honours for 3 states, 67 districts, 6 municipal corporations, one urban local body, various ministries, industries, NGOs, donors and nodal officers.

The Jal Sanchai Jan Bhagidari programme aims to promote water conservation at the grassroots level by involving citizens, community groups and corporate bodies. For effective assessment, states were placed in five zones, each tasked with creating a minimum of 10,000 artificial recharge or storage structures—such as rooftop rainwater harvesting systems, rejuvenated ponds, tanks and wells. Awards were classified into three categories, each carrying different cash rewards.

In the district-level honours, Telangana dominated the South Zone under Category-1, with all three top slots going to its districts. Adilabad, Nalgonda and Mancherial each received a cash reward of ₹2 crore, totalling ₹6 crore.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was recognised for its conservation efforts, while the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) secured second place among municipal corporations, earning a prize of ₹2 crore. In Category-2, the districts of Warangal, Nirmal and Jangaon from Telangana bagged the top three ranks, with each receiving ₹1 crore.

Under Category-3, Bhadradri Kothagudem and Mahabubnagar districts secured the first and third positions respectively, each winning ₹25 lakh. Additionally, A. Satish of the Central Water Commission—who served as the nodal officer for multiple districts including Adilabad, Jagtial, Kamareddy, Kumuram Bheem Asifabad, Medak, Nirmal, Nizamabad and Sangareddy—was also honoured for his contributions.

The Telangana Information Centre, New Delhi, released the official notification listing the awardees. The officials recognised include:

• Dr. Srijana, IAS, PR & RD Commissioner
• K. Ashok Kumar Reddy, MD, HMWSSB
• Rajarshi Shah, IAS, Collector, Adilabad
• J. Srinivas, Additional Collector, Nalgonda
• Kumar Deepak, IAS, Collector, Mancherial
• Dr. Satya Sarada, IAS, Collector, Warangal
• Abhilasha Abhinav, IAS, Collector, Nirmal
• Rizwan Bhasha Sheikh, IAS, Collector, Jangaon
• Jitesh V Patil, IAS, Collector, Bhadradri Kothagudem
• B. Vijayendra, IAS, Collector, Mahabubnagar

Telangana’s sweeping performance across categories reflects its strong commitment to sustainable water management and community-led conservation efforts.