Karjan Reservoir Project in Gujarat had displaced 28 villages. These communities were rehabilitated in 17 resettlement sites in the early 1980s. One of the rehabilitated village is Ghanikut of Block Valia in Bharuch district. Apart from usual rehabilitation package offered to all affected villages, Ghanikut was specifically selected for a pilot project for agricultural development through a lift irrigation scheme. The village community was active and organised itself for community action. Aga Khan Rural Support Programme-India (AKRSP-I), a well known NGO working in Bharuch district for many years facilitated social engineering and technical know-how in natural resources management. Lift irrigation project became operational in 1994.