Climate change is disrupting the water cycle itself
In a nation where rivers carry both spiritual meaning and the weight of survival, India's Ministry of Jal Shakti honored the Art of Living organization with two of its highest water conservation awards, recognizing a decade-long effort to revive rivers, restore polluted water bodies, and secure clean water for tens of millions of rural citizens. Presided over by President Droupadi Murmu at the 6th National Water Awards, the recognition places community-driven environmental action at the center of India's response to climate-driven water insecurity. The scale of the work — 75 rivers revived, 174 billion liters conserved annually, 20,000 villages reached — suggests that the most durable solutions to ecological crisis may emerge not from policy alone, but from the patient labor of organized communities.
- India faces a deepening water crisis as groundwater levels fall, rivers grow more polluted, and climate change renders rainfall increasingly unpredictable across the subcontinent.
- The Art of Living organization has responded at an unusual scale — reviving over 75 rivers, building 105,000 recharge structures, and restoring 152 polluted water bodies including urban drains and temple ponds.
- A parallel push to train 3 million farmers in natural farming across 24 states targets agricultural runoff at its source, reducing the chemical contamination that quietly poisons the groundwater feeding the Ganga basin.
- India's President and senior ministers used the award ceremony to signal that water security is a national emergency requiring both government infrastructure and sustained citizen participation.
- The dual honors — Best NGO for Water Conservation and Best Civil Society — position Art of Living as a model for how non-governmental organizations can operate at the intersection of science, community mobilization, and ecological restoration.
At a ceremony presided over by President Droupadi Murmu, the Art of Living organization received two major national honors at India's 6th National Water Awards — Best NGO for Water Conservation and a commendation in the Best Civil Society category — presented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The recognition reflects both the scale of the organization's environmental work and the urgency India places on water security as climate disruption intensifies.
The numbers behind the awards are striking: more than 75 rivers and tributaries revived, over 105,000 groundwater recharge structures conserving 174 billion liters of water each year, and clean water access extended to 3.45 crore people across 20,000 villages. Union Minister C. R. Patil called the organization a key player in India's national water strategy.
Much of the recent work has centered on pollution reversal. Through the JalShuddhi initiative, Art of Living has restored 152 degraded water bodies — including temple ponds in Chennai, urban drains in Agra, Pune, and Delhi NCR. In Kanpur and Raebareli, over 4,500 farmers have been trained in natural farming and roughly 3,500 hectares converted to chemical-free cultivation, reducing the agricultural runoff that contaminates the Ganga basin's groundwater.
The organization's broader strategy links tree planting — 100 million trees across 36 countries — with soil water retention, and situates all of this work within the national Namami Gange Mission. President Murmu noted that climate change is disrupting the water cycle itself and called for sustained commitment from both government and citizens.
Shri Prasana Prabhu, accepting the award on behalf of Art of Living, framed the recognition not as an endpoint but as renewed obligation — to volunteers, to partner communities, and to the rivers themselves.
In a ceremony presided over by India's President Droupadi Murmu, The Art of Living—the environmental organization founded by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar—received two major national honors for its work restoring rivers and securing water across the country. The awards came at the 6th National Water Awards and the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari Awards, presented by India's Ministry of Jal Shakti. The organization was recognized as the Best NGO for Water Conservation and received a separate commendation in the Best Civil Society category, cementing its role in one of India's most pressing challenges: ensuring reliable water access in an era of climate disruption.
The scale of the work being honored is substantial. Art of Living has revived more than 75 rivers and tributaries, constructed over 105,000 groundwater recharge structures that collectively conserve 174 billion liters of water annually, and extended water access to 3.45 crore people across 20,000 villages. The organization's efforts span multiple states and address water scarcity through both large infrastructure and community engagement. In the ceremony, Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil highlighted the organization's contribution to the broader national movement for water conservation and public participation, calling it a key player in the country's water security strategy.
Much of the recent work has focused on pollution control and restoration. Through an initiative called JalShuddhi, the organization has cleaned and restored 152 polluted water bodies, including 102 temple ponds in Chennai, 11 drains in Agra, 24 drains in Pune, and the Barapulla drain in Delhi NCR. These projects combine scientific intervention with community participation to reverse decades of degradation. The work extends to preventing future pollution as well. In Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur and Raebareli regions, Art of Living has trained more than 4,500 farmers in natural farming methods and converted approximately 3,500 hectares to chemical-free cultivation. This shift reduces agricultural runoff—one of the major sources of water contamination—and strengthens the groundwater recharge systems that feed the Ganga River basin.
The natural farming initiative reflects a broader strategy of addressing water security at its source. Across 24 states, the organization has trained 3 million farmers in sustainable agricultural practices. It has also planted 100 million trees in 36 countries, work that supports water retention in soil and reduces evaporation. These efforts are part of the Namami Gange Mission, a national program aimed at cleaning and rejuvenating the Ganga, and they represent the kind of upstream intervention that water security experts say is essential as climate change makes rainfall patterns less predictable.
President Murmu used the occasion to emphasize the urgency of the challenge. She noted that climate change is disrupting the water cycle itself and stressed that both government and citizens must commit to sustained action on water availability and security. She also highlighted that some industrial units have already achieved zero pollutant discharge—a sign that the problem, while severe, is not intractable. The presence of multiple ministers and senior officials underscored the national importance of the awards and the water security agenda they represent.
Shri Prasana Prabhu, who received the award on behalf of Art of Living as chairman of its agricultural sciences trust and rural development program, framed the recognition as a call to deeper commitment. He acknowledged the volunteers and partners supporting the mission and said the award strengthened the organization's resolve to advance water conservation and pollution mitigation. The broader context is one of accelerating environmental stress: India's groundwater levels are declining in many regions, rivers are increasingly polluted, and rural communities often lack reliable access to clean water. Awards like these serve both to recognize progress and to signal which approaches—community-driven, science-based, focused on prevention as well as remediation—are gaining traction at the national level.
Notable Quotes
Climate change is disrupting the water cycle and government and citizens must work together with steady commitment toward water availability and water security.— President Droupadi Murmu
This recognition strengthens our resolve to advance water conservation and pollution mitigation.— Shri Prasana Prabhu, Chairman of Art of Living's agricultural sciences and rural development trusts
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When you say the organization has revived 75 rivers, what does revival actually mean on the ground?
It's not a single thing. Sometimes it's cleaning out pollution, sometimes it's restoring the banks, sometimes it's recharging the aquifers that feed the river. The temple ponds in Chennai—those were completely degraded, and now they're functioning again. The drains in Agra and Pune were essentially open sewers. Reviving them means stopping the pollution at the source and then cleaning what's already there.
And the 105,000 recharge structures—are those visible to people, or are they mostly underground?
Mostly underground. They're wells, tanks, check dams, structures designed to let water percolate into the soil instead of running off. The point is to rebuild the groundwater table, which is what actually sustains villages during dry seasons. It's not glamorous work, but it's the difference between a well that runs dry and one that doesn't.
The natural farming piece seems separate from water. Why is that part of a water conservation award?
Because agriculture is the biggest user of water in India, and chemical farming requires constant irrigation and pollutes whatever water it touches. If you shift 3,500 hectares to chemical-free methods, you're using less water and you're not poisoning the groundwater. It's the same problem approached from a different angle.
Does this work actually reach the poorest villages, or does it tend to concentrate in certain regions?
The numbers suggest it's broad—20,000 villages, 24 states. But I'd want to know more about which villages and whether the benefits are actually reaching the poorest households or just the ones with land and resources. The award recognizes the scale, but scale and equity aren't always the same thing.
What happens to these projects after the initial work is done? Do communities maintain them?
That's the real test, isn't it. The organization talks about community participation and volunteers, which suggests they're trying to build local ownership. But whether a restored drain stays clean or a recharge structure keeps functioning depends entirely on whether the community sees it as theirs and has the capacity to maintain it. That's not something the award tells us.