39-year-old Arun Krishnamurthy, a former Google employee, is the man behind the restoration of 460 waterbodies, including lakes and ponds, in 16 states. The founder of Chennai-based Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) and a committed activist for the conservation of lakes and other waterbodies across India, Krishnamurthy, had also been mentioned in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ in the past. EFI plans to expand across all 28 states of India and neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Arun says that more than 70 per cent of the country’s surface water is polluted, largely due to the poor management of industrial and domestic waste.
Arun was honoured with the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 2012 for his lake restoration efforts in Chennai and the British Council International Climate Champion Excellence Award two years prior to that.