In which district of Rajasthan ‘Khadin’ is a popular method of water conservation ?

Correct — option (3), Jaisalmer.

A khadin is a runoff-farming system of the Thar. A long earthen embankment is built across the lower slope below gravelly or rocky uplands. Rain running off the upland catchment is held behind this bund and soaks into the field.

Surplus water leaves through a sluice or spillway. When the ponded water recedes, a crop is grown on the moisture stored in the soil — wheat and gram are the classic khadin crops. The system is credited to the Paliwal Brahmins of Jaisalmer, in the 15th century.

The method fits Jaisalmer's conditions: very little rain, and rocky uplands that shed what rain there is as runoff a bund can catch.

A khadin stores water in the soil of a field, not in a tank. That sets it apart from the tanka, kund and nadi, which hold water mainly for drinking and livestock.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Nagaur — Nagaur has many village ponds called nadis, which store runoff for villagers and livestock: a dryland manual of the Arid Forest Research Institute, Jodhpur, counts about 1,436 there. Nadis are not peculiar to Nagaur — the same manual counts about 1,822 in Jaisalmer.

  The khadin is a different method, farming on stored soil moisture, and it is associated with Jaisalmer, whose Paliwal Brahmins are credited with it.

• (2)
  Bikaner — Bikaner lies in the Thar, where rainwater is stored for drinking in tankas and kunds — covered underground tanks fed by a catchment.

  Those are drinking-water structures. The khadin, which turns runoff into soil moisture for a crop, is the system associated with Jaisalmer.

• (4)
  Pali — Pali lies in the semi-arid Luni basin, where anicuts — small masonry dams across streams — have been studied for recharging groundwater in nearby wells.

  An anicut holds a stream; a khadin catches sheet runoff from uplands to moisten a field. The khadin belongs to the arid far west, in Jaisalmer.

Western Rajasthan developed water harvesting suited to very low rain. The methods fall into two broad groups.

Some store water for drinking and livestock: the tanka and kund (covered underground tanks), the nadi (village pond) and the kui (a small shallow well dug in a depression or pond bed). Others store water in the soil for farming, and the khadin is the main example.

A khadin's catchment is many times larger than its field. Reported catchment-to-field ratios range from about 12:1 near Jodhpur to 15:1 or more in drier Jaisalmer, depending on rainfall and slope. Water often stays ponded on the field for two to three months before the crop is sown.

Key facts

• The khadin is a runoff-farming system credited to the Paliwal Brahmins of Jaisalmer in the 15th century.
• A khadin's earthen embankment, 100–300 m long, is built across lower hill slopes to hold runoff from the uplands above.
• Runoff held behind the khadin bund saturates the soil; surplus water leaves through a sluice or spillway.
• Wheat and gram are the classic crops grown on the moisture stored in khadin soil after the ponded water recedes.
• Kunds are covered underground tanks with a plastered catchment, used to store rainwater in western Rajasthan.

Common traps

• A khadin stores water in a field's soil for a crop; tankas and kunds store water in a closed tank for drinking. Check whether the stem is about farming or drinking water.
• All four options lie west of the Aravallis, so "dry district" does not narrow the choice. Tie the khadin to the Paliwal Brahmins of Jaisalmer.
• Nadis and khadins both catch runoff behind a bund. The nadi keeps the water as a pond for people and animals; the khadin lets it soak into the field for a crop.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2013 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In the water-harvesting traditions of western Rajasthan, a 'kund' is

  • (a)a covered underground tank that stores rainwater from a plastered catchment
  • (b)an earthen embankment that holds runoff to moisten a field for a crop
  • (c)a small masonry dam built across a stream
  • (d)a step-well reached by a long flight of steps
  Answer(1) — A kund is a covered underground tank fed by a plastered catchment. Option (2) describes a khadin. Option (3) describes an anicut. Option (4) describes a baori, or stepwell.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  The khadin system of runoff farming is credited to which community ?

  • (a)Bishnois
  • (b)Paliwal Brahmins
  • (c)Rebaris
  • (d)Meenas
  Answer(2) — The khadin is credited to the Paliwal Brahmins of Jaisalmer, in the 15th century. Option (1), the Bishnois, are known for protecting trees and wildlife. Option (3), the Rebaris, are pastoral herders. Option (4), the Meenas, are one of Rajasthan's Scheduled Tribes; the khadin is credited to the Paliwals, not to them.