District Level Workshop on Empowering Gram Panchayats in Water Conservation and SWM at Palghar, Maharashtra
March 2026
The Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS), CRDF, CEPT University, in collaboration with the HDFC Bank Parivartan CSR Program and with the support of Zilla Parishad Palghar, successfully conducted District Level Training Workshop on “Empowering Gram Panchayats in Water Conservation and Solid Waste Management.” The training aimed to strengthen the capacity of Gram Panchayats in planning and implementing water conservation and solid waste management initiatives. The program included technical sessions and experience sharing by model villages with discussions on key government schemes to scale up at the village level through provisions in GPDP.
Around 30 Gram Panchayats participated in the workshop, including district officials, Panchayat Samiti officials, Gram Panchayat Adhikaris, Sarpanch, and other Gram Panchayat representatives. The workshop was inaugurated by Ravindra Shinde, Additional CEO, Zilla Parishad Palghar, along with the BDO Palghar and the District Finance Officer. The workshop was conducted under the guidance of Sudhakar Bobade, Mission Director, Majhi Vasundhara Abhiyan, Department of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Maharashtra, and Manoj Ranade (IAS), CEO, Zilla Parishad Palghar. It was also attended by Sanjay Bhoye, BDO, Palghar, and Korde, Project Director (Finance), District Water and Sanitation Mission, who shared their guidance with the participants.
The workshop marked the release of two step-by-step guidebook for Gram Panchayats and local communities in implementing Rainwater Harvesting and Waste Management for Rural Areas.
CWAS also received valuable support from Atul Paraskar, Project Director, DWSM, along with district and Panchayat Samiti staff who played an important role in organising and facilitating the workshop.
