On 19th February 2020, the Department of Water Resources, Government of Rajasthan, was awarded by the Central Board of Irrigation & Power (CBIP) in New Delhi. The state government received award in two categories, namely, Excellence in Integrated Water Resources Management in Indira Gandhi Canal Project and Effective Participatory Irrigation Management for effective involvement of farmers in irrigation management.
Naveen Mahajan, Secretary, Water Resources, Government of Rajasthan received the awards from Rattan Lal Kataria, Minister of State, Ministry of Jal Shakti and RK Jain, Chairman, Central Water Commission.
The CBIP Award 2020 recognised the work done under the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) by Indira Gandhi Project and work done by Rajasthan in the field of Participatory Irrigation Management. CBIP has appreciated the effective integrated, multidisciplinary command area development under Indira Gandhi Nahar Project (IGNP) in western districts of Rajasthan for effective, integrated, multidisciplinary Command Area Development in desert areas of Rajasthan by efficient Operation, Maintenance and Regulation of Canal Network, web enabled Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) based monitoring and control system of Main Canal to achieve timely and equitable water distribution among farmers and continual efforts of increasing water use efficiency through micro-irrigation.
The second project has resulted in efficient farm level water management, enhanced water use efficiency and increase in actual irrigated area.
CBIP is an organisation constituted by Government of India in 1927. It is involved in the dissemination of technical knowledge in Water Resources, Power and Renewable Energy Sectors and also organises annual awards.
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Also: Rajasthan Water Resources Department Awarded in 2019
It is also relevant to note that in September 2019, Rajasthan became the first state to be awarded for water conservation and efficient use practices by the National Water Mission of the Government of India under Category Two–Promotion of citizen and state action for water conservation, augmentation and preservation–of awards.
The award given out by the Jal Shakti ministry is in line with the larger government campaign for water conservation and its supply to every household in the country. Use of micro-irrigation in Narmada Canal Project in Sanchore and in Tejpur Minor of Indira Gandhi Nahar Project stage-II were then declared winners by a jury comprising IIT professors, former bureaucrats and water experts who verified the project credentials and visited the project.
According to Naveen Mahajan, the Narmada Canal project is the first major project in the country based on micro irrigation based water application. Narmada water provides irrigation to 246,000 hectares in Barmer and Jalore districts, and drinking water to three towns and 1,541 villages in both the districts.
The Tejpur Minor project won the second prize for increasing water use efficiency by 20 per cent after the micro irrigation system was introduced during 2011-12. It led to “rise in crop production” leading to “improvement” in the socio-economic status of farmers in the area,”
