water conservation
![Lapodiya village, near Jaipur, where the Chauka system of water harvesting was first set up by Laxman Singh. Pic: GVNML](https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/fit-in/960x720/filters:format(webp)/30-stades/media/media_files/3Mw3XlGWMPhaPDg18hEU.jpg)
The class 10 dropout from Rajasthan who won the Padma Shri for his Chauka system of water harvesting
Laxman Singh’s pioneering Chauka system of water harvesting has been adopted by 57 villages in Rajasthan. It has also been replicated in Israel and Afghanistan, helping lakhs of people in water-scarce regions