Hiware Bazaar’s downfall began in the early 1970s. A drought-prone area, the farmers had no option but to be dependent on rains for a single crop every year. The decline in the availability of water for drinking and agriculture led to increased unemployment of the farmers. The transformation in this situation came about when Popatrao Pawar was elected as the village Sarpanch.Under his guidance the Yeshwant Krishi Gram Panlot Sanstha was formed and began chalking out a plan that would increase the water table in the village. A number of check-dams were built in order to prevent loss of water by run-off. Various government schemes and voluntary agencies supported this integrated approach under their own watershed development programmes. In 1993-4, an afforestation programme was started with the help of forest department on 400 ha of land. Afforestation was also taken up on private lands. Nearly 10.5 lakh trees have been planted in the past decades.