Union Minister and IAS Officer's Family Received Crores in Farm Subsidies: Probe
An investigation by The Indian Express has revealed that Bhagirath Choudhary, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, received a subsidy of Rs 99.6 lakh under a scheme administered by his own ministry. The subsidy was approved almost three months ago by a board in which Choudhary serves as ex-officio Vice-President.
Official data shows that 467 projects with a total cost of Rs 144 crore, covering 677 acres, were approved under the scheme in the 2025-26 financial year. Of these, 60 projects received subsidies of over Rs 50 lakh each. While the Minister has no direct role in final approval—which is granted by a committee excluding the board's president and vice-president—the findings raise questions about potential conflict of interest.
The Indian Express sent a detailed questionnaire to Choudhary seeking his response on the matter. As of publication, no reply had been received.
The investigation also found that the mother, wife, and son of Naresh Pal Gangwar, a senior IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre currently serving as Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, were beneficiaries of the same scheme. Gangwar received over Rs 1.16 crore in subsidies across five years. However, he disclosed details of only one project in his mandatory annual immovable property declaration to the Department of Personnel and Training for 2021-22.
The scheme, aimed at supporting farmers, has now come under scrutiny for allegedly benefiting those connected to the administration rather than the intended rural beneficiaries.
