Uttar Pradesh’s water success story takes center stage at TOI Water Summit

In recent years, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has made remarkable progress under the Jal Jeevan Mission’s ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme ensuring access to clean drinking water for more than 14 crore rural residents. Additionally, over 2 crore rural households have been provided with Functional Household Tap Connections and over 99% schools and anganwadi centers have access to tap water supply.

To highlight these key milestones in the state's progress, TOI, in association with the State Water & Sanitation Mission - Government of Uttar Pradesh, presents the Water Summit. To be held in Lucknow on Mar 19, the event will bring together experts, policymakers and industry leaders to discuss innovative solutions, best practices, and the future of water sustainability in Uttar Pradesh.

Prasad Sanyal, Business Head, timesofindia.com, said, “Uttar Pradesh has taken giant strides in ensuring access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities to residents in rural areas. The Water Summit serves as a vital platform to foster discussions on the state’s inspiring journey toward sustainable water management and its impact on millions of lives.”

A major highlight of the event will be the felicitation of pioneering women who are driving Uttar Pradesh's water revolution.

Here’s an overview of the sessions at the Water Summit.

The keynote address will be delivered by Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh. This will be followed by a felicitation ceremony honouring the women leading Uttar Pradesh’s water revolution.

The panel on ‘Mahakumbh 2025: Mega Water Management - A Success Story’ will include key speakers including Dr Raj Shekhar (IAS), MD, Jal Nigam (Rural); Anil Garg, IAS, Principal Secretary, Irrigation & Water Resources Department, Uttar Pradesh; Padma Shree awardee Dr Ajay Sonkar and Ingeo Contractor CEO Rajneesh Mehra.

Divyendu Kumar Sing, Unit Coordinator (Technical), State Water & Sanitation Mission (Uttar Pradesh); Dr Heera Lal, IAS, State Nodal Officer, Prime Minister Agriculture Irrigation Scheme; Prashansha Gupta, CEO, Institute for Water & Climate Initiatives and Hari Prakash Haihyvanshi, Deputy Programme Manager, Water & Wastewater, CSE India, will share insights during a discussion on ‘Water Sanitation & Public Health: Safe Water for All’.

Radha Krishna Tripathi, Sr Media Advisor, State Water & Sanitation Mission (Uttar Pradesh), environmentalist Ramveer Tanwar, Dr Venkatesh Dutta of Babasahab Bhimrao Ambedkar University and Dr Balkar Singh, IAS, Housing Commissioner, will discuss the crucial role of grassroots awareness in driving successful community-led water conservation initiatives.

The panel on ‘Water Conservation & Future Drinking Water Availability’ will feature Brijraj Singh Yadav (IAS), Executive Director, State Water & Sanitation Mission (Uttar Pradesh); Abhishek Singh, Ex IAS, Social Entrepreneur and Dr Smriti Singh, State Programme Director at Water Aid Uttar Pradesh

Anurag Srivastava, Addl Chief Secy, Uttar Pradesh will join for a fireside chat on ‘Infrastructure & Policy Innovation for a Water-Secure Future’.

You can watch TOI Water Summit live on Mar 22, 10AM onwards on this link: https://www.thetimesofindia.online/toi-mastery/toiwatersummit