The union minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare, Bhagirath Choudhary, reportedly received a government subsidy of Rs 99.60 lakh issued by his own ministry for his cucumber farm.
The information was revealed by a report in the Indian Express
Choudhary is a Lok Sabha MP from Ajmer.
The benefit was revived under the Mission for the integrated development of Horticulture. The scheme is meant to promote commercial farming under the Union Ministry.
According to the report, Choudhary became a beneficiary of the scene due to his farm in Peh village in Didwana Kuchaman district in Rajasthan.
A board outside the farm states that the project received funding from the National Horticulture Board under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Choudhary was also the ex officio Vice Chairman of the National Horticulture Board that approved the project.
According to the board, the total cost of the project was Rs 1.99 crore, with the promoters' share being Rs 4.98 lakh. Choudhary took a loan of Rs 1.49 crore, which was directly credited to his bank account for the loan.
Choudhary had previously applied for the scheme in 2018 but was rejected due to a delay in submitting a hard copy.
The same board approved his project under the scheme last year.
The scheme reportedly provides a subsidy of 50 per cent of the project cost upto a maximum amount of Rs 1 crore.
Choudhary was approved for an assistance of Rs 99.60 lakh under the limit.
Choudhary has now responded to the report's claims saying that he is a farmer and that he did not hide anything. In a statement to ANI he said,"I am a farmer and have been in agriculture since my childhood days I have not hidden anything. Thousands of farmers polyhouses and avail subsidies. So, I did too. I had applied in 2018. I have installed a board there and mentioned all the loans and subsidies I took. I also train farmers there in new techniques and natural farming. All local officials have visited the spot. So, what did I hide?"
The report also claims that the wife, mother and son of Naresh Pal Gangwar, a senior IAS officer, also benefited from the scheme in Rajasthan. The report said that the three received a combined subsidy of over Rs 1.16 crore over the past five years. Records show that Gangwar only disclosed one project approved under the scheme in his annual immovable property declaration required by the Department of Personnel and Training for 2021-22.
The subsidy is given to certain types of crops, including vegetables like Capsicum, cucumber and tomato. It is also given to eight varieties of flowers. Its main purpose is to promote commercial farming for profit, of horticultural crops on a large scale.
According to official data, only about 60 of the total 467 projects that received the subsidies received over Rs 50 lakh in subsidies in the year 2025-26. The total amount of subsidies provided under the scheme was Rs 144 crore for an area of 677 acres.
