Tripura's Dhalai named 'Best District', Meghalaya's Khliehrangnah 'Best Panchayat'

Tripura's Dhalai has been awarded the 'Best District' tag, while Meghalaya's Khliehrangnah in West Jaintia Hills has been named the 'Best Panchayat' at the 5th National Water Awards 2023 in the Northeast, as announced by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.

The Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD &GR), under the Ministry of Jal Shakti announced the 38 winners, including joint winners, for the 5th  National Water Awards, 2023, in 09 categories viz 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. 

Under the Northeast zone, Dhalai district of Tripura emerged as winner.

“Major achievements of District in the field of water conservation include creation of 748 community recharge structures, micro irrigation systems in additional 15 hectares of land, excavation of 63 ponds, construction of 176 check dams with storage capacity of 9 lakh cubic metres and construction of 137 water tanks for rainwater harvesting”, said a PIB press release.

It informed that in addition, 25,684 water bodies available in the district have been geo tagged and mapped. 41.32 lakhs of miscellaneous and bamboo tree saplings have been nurtured and planted across the district's expanse. 

“Community engagement with local communities through interactive sessions, awareness campaigns, workshops and training sessions, has been undertaken to explain water usage patterns and to encourage community participation in conservation and management initiatives," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Khliehrangnah, West Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya named as Best Panchayat award in third winner (joint).

“Khliehrangnah Panchayat has renovated and revived 20 water bodies, including 14 springs and 6 streams. 1 dug out pond with 2,400 cubic meters has also been created by the Panchayat. Other works like contour trenches, land rehabilitation by afforestation, construction of dug out ponds and rainwater harvesting systems have been implemented by the Panchayat, for enhancing groundwater”, the press release reads.

It added that with sufficient water now becoming available, the whole cultivable command area of 135 ha has been brought under cultivation, thereby increasing the crop productivity. In addition, community-based monitoring system has been established to keep track of water quality, encroachments, and any illegal activities impacting water bodies.

Further, trainings at the village level including exposure trips to model villages have been imparted which have brought effectiveness and efficiency of the member in undertaking ground water recharge activities.