Raipur, November 18, 2025 / Gariyaband district of Chhattisgarh has secured the third position in the country in Zone-1, Category-2 for its excellent work in the field of water conservation and public participation. This honor was conferred by the hands of President Smt. Draupadi Murmu in a ceremony organized at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi. Under this award, the Gariyaband district has received an amount of one crore rupees for various development works. This has enhanced the pride not only of Gariyaband district but of the entire Chhattisgarh. Chief Minister Mr. Vishnu Deo Sai has congratulated and extended best wishes to the district for this achievement. Union Minister for Jal Shakti Mr. C. R. Patil, Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Railways Mr. V. Somanna, and Minister of State for Jal Shakti Mr. Raj Bhushan Chaudhary were present on the occasion. This award was received by the District Collector Mr. B.S. Uike, Executive Engineer of the Water Resources Department Mr. S.K. Barman, and Assistant Engineer Mr. Manoj Tandilya. Gariyaband district received a prize of one crore rupees as the third award for national water conservation and public participation work. It is noteworthy that Gariyaband district has been chosen as the third best district in the East Zone after inspections, supervisions, and evaluations at various stages in the national water award competition organized by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.
It is significant that Gariyaband was also awarded one crore rupees along with other districts of Chhattisgarh for the commendable efforts made in the field of better maintenance of 26,025 surface water sources and public participation through the concerned departments in the district. This achievement is the result of the implementation of coordinated efforts by various departments of the district, in which the citizens, women, voluntary organizations, and public representatives of the district played an important role. In view of the rapidly declining water level in the district, a comprehensive strategy has been adopted, under which the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan – Catch the Rain More Gaon More Pani’ initiative includes the launch of Mission Jal Raksha – Nari Shakti Se Jal Shakti. Technical innovations for groundwater recharge in the district include major innovations such as attempts to recharge defunct borewells using recharge soft borewell and sand filter technology, preparing injection wells in percolation tanks to directly connect rainwater to the water table, constructing injection wells along with new borewells, recharge structures in hilly areas and water conservation structures in low-lying areas, repair and maintenance of structures, and GIS-based planning and execution of works.