96 participants compete across 14 categories as Jamshedpur celebrates sustainable gardening
Manju Bhamra, Ajay Srivastava Headline Garden of the Year 2026 Winners
Jamshedpur: The Horticultural Society of Jamshedpur announced the successful completion of its flagship Garden of the Year 2026 competition, an initiative aimed at promoting sustainable gardening, biodiversity and well-designed green spaces across the city. The annual contest saw enthusiastic participation from 96 participants across 14 categories, reflecting the growing passion for urban greenery in Jamshedpur.
The competition included categories such as individual balcony gardens, roof gardens, houses and bungalows of different sizes, company-maintained bungalows, educational and academy institutions, corporate offices, and clubs and hotels. The judging was conducted on January 10 and 11 by a panel of horticulture experts from West Bengal — Atanu Kar, Prasenjit Guha, Amit Sankar Shart and Subhransu Maity. Gardens were assessed on seasonal flowers, perennial plants, layout and design, lawn quality, kitchen gardens, green innovations, and features such as greenhouses, medicinal plants, sculptures, topiary and water bodies.
The award ceremony was held at the Main Hall of Beldih Club in the presence of chief guest Rajiv Mangal, Vice President (Safety, Health and Sustainability), Tata Steel, along with Ruchi Narendran, Chairperson of the Horticultural Society of Jamshedpur. The programme included a green welcome ritual, felicitation of sponsors, addresses by dignitaries and prize distribution.
In the Individual Balcony Garden (more than 50 pots) category, Ajay Srivastava emerged winner, while Afsar Mumtaz won in the Individual Balcony Garden (more than 75 pots) category. Renuka Gupta secured the top position in the Individual Roof Garden (100–250 sq. ft.) category and Vijay Gangwani won in the Individual Roof Garden (more than 250 sq. ft.) category.
In the Individual House/Bungalow categories, K. Raghavan won in the up to 250 sq. ft. segment, Chetna Bahadur in the 250–500 sq. ft. category, Usha Satish Kumar in the 600–1000 sq. ft. category, and Manju Bhamra in the 1200 sq. ft. and above category.
Prabal Ghosh and Chaitali Ghosh won in the Company-Maintained Bungalow (up to 1000 m²) category, while Sumita Nupur secured the top position in the Company-Maintained Bungalow (more than 1000 m²) category. DBMS Kadma High School won in the Educational Institution (500 sq. ft. and above) category, XLRI Jamshedpur in the Academy Institution category, The United Club in the Club and Hotel category, and RKFL Unit 5 in the Corporate Office category.
The competition once again highlighted the city’s strong focus on sustainable and innovative gardening practices.
