Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh has taken the top spot in the Jal Sanchay–Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) campaign run by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The recognition was announced at a national event at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, where President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Collector Rishabh Gupta and District Panchayat CEO Nagarjun Gowda.

For its strong performance, the Government of India has awarded Khandwa a Rs 2-crore incentive, which will be utilized for future water conservation and district development projects.

Under the campaign’s evaluation system, the country was divided into five zones. Khandwa led the Western Zone by creating 1,29,020 water conservation structures, which officials said is the highest total recorded in India.

Performance in other zones included:

Northern Zone: Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh led with 35,509 structures

Eastern Zone: Balod in Chhattisgarh secured first place

Southern Zone: Nalgonda in Telangana reported 84,827 structures

North East and Hilly States Zone: North Tripura topped the list with 11,547 structures

Telangana was named the Best Performing State overall.

The award is part of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain initiative, which promotes water conservation, rainwater harvesting, and the restoration of traditional water bodies through public participation.

The JSJB campaign was launched on 6 September 2024 in Surat, with each district mandated to construct at least 10,000 structures. Khandwa far exceeded this requirement, completing close to 1.3 lakh structures.

For this achievement, the district will receive an incentive of Rs 2 crore from the Government of India, earmarked for future water conservation work and related development projects.

Nationwide, the campaign had an initial target of 10 lakh structures. States reported the creation of 27.6 lakh structures, which officials say highlights strong community involvement and coordinated administrative work.

Khandwa’s performance is being viewed as a model of joint effort between district officials, panchayats, and local communities, helping the district rise to the top of the national rankings.