Shivraj plants saplings with women farmers at Sanchi
Synopsis
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan planted saplings with women farmers at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh on October 16, continuing his daily #OnePlantADay pledge and calling on citizens to register and join the campaign.
Key Takeaways
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan planted saplings at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh on October 16, 2026 .
The event was part of his personal #OnePlantADay daily plantation pledge.
He was joined by women farmers ( kisan bahnen ), highlighting their role in rural environmental efforts.
Sanchi is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sanchi Stupa, lending historical and cultural weight to the location.
Citizens can register to join the campaign at shivrajsinghchouhan.co.in/engage/plant-with-shivraj .
The drive aligns with India's broader national afforestation and forest-cover expansion goals.
A Union Minister of Agriculture with a daily pledge to plant — and on Friday, October 16, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made good on that promise at the sacred town of Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, planting saplings alongside kisan bahnen (women farmers) as part of his personal #OnePlantADay campaign.
Posting on X, Chouhan wrote: 'Pratidiन paudharopan ke sankalp ke kram mein aaj Sanchi mein kisan bahnon ke saath paudha ropa.' — 'In continuation of my daily tree-plantation pledge, today I planted a sapling in Sanchi with women farmer sisters.' He called trees and plants 'symbols of the earth's greenery and the prosperity of human life,' and invited the public to register their participation via a dedicated link on his website.
Sanchi: Where Roots Run Deep
Sanchi is not incidental scenery. The town in Madhya Pradesh is home to the ancient Sanchi Stupa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, making it one of India's most symbolically freighted landscapes — a site where civilisation's continuity and its relationship with the natural world have coexisted for over two millennia. Planting trees here, alongside women who farm the surrounding land, frames the gesture within that longer arc.Women Farmers at the Centre of the Frame
Chouhan's choice to plant with kisan bahnen — women farmers — is deliberate. As the minister holding the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare portfolio, women cultivators are a core constituency. Rural women are disproportionately involved in land management and informal agro-forestry practices, making their visible inclusion in an afforestation drive more than ceremonial.The #OnePlantADay Push
The #OnePlantADay campaign is framed as an open, participatory initiative. Chouhan's post includes a registration link — shivrajsinghchouhan.co.in/engage/plant-with-shivraj — inviting citizens to log their own plantation efforts. The mechanism echoes broader national afforestation goals, where citizen mobilisation is central to scaling impact beyond government-led drives. India has set ambitious targets under its Nationally Determined Contributions to increase forest and tree cover, and mass-participation campaigns are one lever being pulled at every level of government. How many citizens actually register — and whether the daily cadence holds — will tell the fuller story of this campaign's reach.Point of View
Conducted visibly alongside women farmers at a site of national heritage, is a deliberate fusion of his agriculture portfolio with environmental optics — positioning rural women as agents of green action, not just beneficiaries of farm policy. The registration-link mechanism attempts to convert a ministerial gesture into a measurable citizen movement, a format increasingly used by BJP leaders to build digital grassroots engagement. Whether the campaign generates genuine mass participation or plateaus as social-media symbolism will be the real test. Set against India's ambitious forest-cover NDC targets, these ground-level drives matter only if the numbers compound.
NationPress
16 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Shivraj Singh Chouhan's #OnePlantADay campaign?
#OnePlantADay is a personal daily tree-plantation initiative by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan , in which he plants a sapling every day and invites citizens to join by registering at his campaign website.
Where did Shivraj Singh Chouhan plant saplings on October 16, 2026?
He planted saplings at Sanchi , a town in Madhya Pradesh known for the UNESCO-listed Sanchi Stupa , alongside women farmers.
How can citizens join Shivraj Singh Chouhan's plant-a-tree campaign?
Citizens can register their participation by clicking the link on his website: shivrajsinghchouhan.co.in/engage/plant-with-shivraj .
Why did Shivraj Singh Chouhan plant trees with women farmers?
As Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare , Chouhan has consistently highlighted women farmers as a priority constituency; their inclusion in the plantation drive underscores their role in rural land and environmental stewardship.
What is the significance of Sanchi for this tree-plantation event?
Sanchi is home to the ancient Sanchi Stupa , a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Madhya Pradesh, giving the location deep historical and cultural resonance for an event centred on nature and human prosperity.
