Guwahati, March 30 -- Jyoti-Protap Education Trust in an award Distribution ceremony at Jyoti-Protap Gyan Marg Vidyalaya in Jorhat district of Assam conferred the Telangana-based water conservationist M. Karunakar Reddy with the first "Jadav Payeng International Award" on Sunday.

The Trust named the award as 'Jadav Payeng International Award', which carries ?2 lakhs, a citation, and a memento after Assam's Jadav Payeng, a grassroots green activist better known as the 'Forest Man of India'. The trust announced the award in November 2024.

The Trust stated that Payeng himself, along with a five-member selection committee, chose Reddy for his exceptional work.

Upon receiving the award, the environment conservationist Reddy stated that, cli...