GUWAHATI
Telangana-based water conservationist M. Karunakar Reddy on Sunday (March 30, 2025) received the first award named after Assam’s Jadav Payeng, a grassroots green activist better known as the ‘Forest Man of India’.
The Jadav Payeng International Award, carrying ₹2 lakh, a citation, and a memento, was announced in November 2024 by the Jyoti-Protap Education Trust. The award was presented at the Jyoti-Protap Gyanmarg Bidyalay, a charitable school run by the trust in Jorhat district’s Kaliapani, about 330 km east of Guwahati.
Mr. Reddy said receiving the award in the name of a “living legend” was akin to receiving the Nobel Prize.
“He (Mr. Payeng) kept planting trees all his life without expecting any award or honour. He did it for his inner satisfaction, but it is making the world sustainable. Payeng is one of many unsung heroes in the sustainable development of a country,” he said.
Stating that water crisis due to climate change was a global problem, Mr. Reddy said the solution lies with people. He encouraged everyone to plant trees, not waste water, and reuse it.
“India has 20% of the global population but only 4% of the world’s resources. We have to measure and manage this disparity properly,” he said.
The Jyoti-Protap Education Trust said Mr. Reddy had pioneered water conservation and management, land restoration and forestation, disaster relief, food security, and climate change awareness and action.
“We instituted the award in Jadav Payeng’s name after noting that he is an inspiration for everyone. Mr. Reddy was selected by a five-member selection committee for working tirelessly for water conservation,” Protap Saikia, secretary of the trust and founder of the digitally-smart school it runs for children of the economically challenged local learners.
Mr. Payeng has planted and tended trees on a 550-hectare sandbar in the Brahmaputra river, turning it into a forest reserve. The sandbar is in the Jorhat district.
“This award has motivated me to work more for society. I have seen how Reddy-ji is helping people. He deserved this award,” Mr. Payeng said.
