New Delhi, Mar 29 (IANS): President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday conferred 'Best State' award to Uttar Pradesh followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, at the third National Water Awards event held here.

The National Water Awards are given by the Ministry of Jal Shakti for exemplary work in the field of water management, and expansion of water campaigns to underline the importance of water.

The 'Best District' awards for north zone was bagged by Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) and Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Punjab); for south zone it was Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh); for east zone, East Champaran (Bihar) and Godda (Jharkhand) won the award; Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Vadodara (Gujarat) and Banswara (Rajasthan) won the awards in west zone while Goalpara (Assam) and Siang (Arunachal Pradesh) won the awards for the north-east zone.

The awards also included zone wise 'Best Village Panchayat', 'Best Urban Local Body' (Vapi in Gujarat, Dapoli in Maharashtra and Madurai in Tamil Nadu); 'Best Media House', 'Best NGO' category and even for 'Best Institution/RWA/religious organisation/campus'. Another direct user category of awards was 'Best Water User Association' and 'Best Industry for CSR activities' too.

Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Kaveripattinam in Tamil Nadu, Amalorpavam Lourds Academy, Thiruvallur, Puducherry and Amity International School, Noida, Uttar Pradesh won the awards in the Best School category.