Telangana’s M Karunakar Reddy to receive first Jadav Payeng International Award

Telangana-based environmentalist M Karunakar Reddy has been selected as the recipient of the inaugural Jadav Payeng International Award. This prestigious accolade, instituted by the Jyoti-Protap Education Trust in Assam's Jorhat district, aims to honour individuals who have made remarkable contributions to climate action and nature conservation.

The Jadav Payeng International Award carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a citation, which will be presented to Karunakar Reddy in January 2025. Rituraj Phukan, a member of the 5-person selection committee, lauded Reddy's dedication, stating, the first Jadav Payeng International Award will be given to environmentalist Reddy, also known as the "green man of India".

Protap Saikia, the founder of the Jyoti-Protap Education Trust, expressed the organisation's motivation behind establishing this award. He explained that the award is named after Jadav Payeng, the 'Forest Man of India,' who created a forest covering over 550 hectares in Assam’s Jorhat.

Payeng is widely recognised for his ongoing efforts to protect and preserve nature and address climate change. The award ceremony will take place at Jyoti Protap Bidyalay in Teok, Jorhat, in the last week of January 2025.

The Jyoti-Protap Education Trust, a non-profit organisation, runs the Jyoti Protap Gyanmarg Bidyalay school in Teok, Jorhat, providing free education to economically disadvantaged students.