It so happened that, while travelling to Mulshi from Pune, Prakash Javadekar chanced upon a visit to the Kolvan Valley. But to his dismay, he discovered that the areas which receives around 100mm of rainfall during the monsoon used to become dry by January. Hence, he organized the workers and the farmers of the area to start a project under the DPAP Scheme. He organized a “Pani Yatra” for four days visiting each and every village in the area. This became the basis of planning for watershed development in the valley.

This was followed by the approval of a scheme which was launched in collaboration with NGOs Gomukh and Gangotri. Gram Shakti, an NGO chaired by Prakash Javadekar emerged as a pioneer in coordinating the entire activity along with Gomukh. All these NGOs having their dedicated Members from the Dnyan Prabodhini joined hands to get the work done. The NGO’s Gomukh, Gram Shakti and Gangotri came together to develop the first ever successful Watershed Development Project in the region. Also, Gram Shakti Conducted Skill Development and Training Programmes for villagers to encourage public participation for rural development.