The Chief Minister's Office of Uttarakhand on Friday, 26 June 2026, shared remarks by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcoming Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the state for the Khet Bachao Abhiyan programme, describing the campaign as a movement that has now reached every citizen.

Addressing the occasion, CM Dhami said: 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan ka karyakram aaj jan-jan ka abhiyan ban gaya hai' ('The Khet Bachao Abhiyan programme has today become a campaign of the people'). He extended a heartfelt welcome to Union Minister Chouhan on his arrival in Uttarakhand for the event.

Context

The Khet Bachao Abhiyan — translating to 'Save the Farm Campaign' — is a state-level initiative in Uttarakhand focused on protecting agricultural land and reviving farming activity across the state. The campaign addresses a long-standing concern: declining cultivation in hill districts driven by large-scale migration of rural youth to urban centres.

Uttarakhand's mountainous terrain makes agricultural land scarce and vulnerable to abandonment. The state government has framed the abhiyan as both an economic and cultural intervention — seeking to keep farming viable for communities whose livelihoods and identities are tied to the land.

Policy Backdrop

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who holds the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare portfolio at the Centre, brings significant experience in farmer-outreach programmes. As a former four-term Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Chouhan is closely associated with rural welfare schemes and has been a vocal advocate for smallholder farmers.

His visit to Uttarakhand signals active coordination between the Union Agriculture Ministry and the BJP-governed state on ground-level implementation of farm protection measures. Such joint outreach visits are part of a broader pattern of Centre-state alignment on agricultural policy under the current government.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the Khet Bachao Abhiyan are Uttarakhand's farming communities, particularly those in the hill districts of Garhwal and Kumaon, where fallow land has grown as younger generations migrate in search of employment. The campaign aims to reverse this trend by making agriculture more rewarding and sustainable.

CM Dhami's framing of the abhiyan as a 'jan-jan ka abhiyan' ('campaign of every person') suggests the state is seeking to build broad public ownership of the initiative, beyond government machinery alone. Participation from a senior Union minister reinforces the programme's political and administrative weight.

What's Next

Observers will watch for any concrete announcements emerging from Minister Chouhan's visit — including potential state budget allocations for farmland protection, joint guidelines on land-use policy, or new central scheme linkages for Uttarakhand's farmers. The visit could also signal a larger rollout of the abhiyan's model to other hill states facing similar agricultural stress.

If the Centre and state jointly formalise support mechanisms under the campaign, the Khet Bachao Abhiyan could serve as a template for coordinated farmland conservation efforts across India's ecologically sensitive mountain regions.