Union Minister Gets Rs 99.6 Lakh Subsidy for His Farm Under Own Ministry Scheme

In a farm in central Rajasthan, a signboard declares: “Assisted by National Horticulture Board, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Govt. of India”. The beneficiary is Mr. Bhagirath Choudhary, who is the Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. The subsidy amount listed is Rs 99,60,000 — half of the total project cost of Rs 1.99 crore.

An investigation by The Indian Express reveals that Choudhary received the subsidy three months ago through a scheme under his own ministry. The scheme, part of the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), is administered by the National Horticulture Board (NHB), an autonomous organisation under the administrative control of Choudhary’s ministry. The NHB’s Board of Directors is headed by the Union Agriculture Minister as ex-officio President, with the Union Minister of State for Agriculture as ex-officio Vice-President — a role held by Choudhary.

The scheme promotes commercial farming of select vegetables and flowers, offering a maximum subsidy of 50 per cent, capped at Rs 1 crore per family. Choudhary’s project for cucumber cultivation across 16,592 sq m is one of 467 projects approved by NHB in 2025 under the scheme titled “Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and Post-Harvest Management of Horticulture Crops”.

While the Minister has no direct role in approving individual projects — the final approval is granted by an NHB project approval committee that does not include the board’s president or vice-president — his position as ex-officio Vice-President of the board raises questions of conflict of interest. The Indian Express sent a questionnaire to Choudhary, but he was unavailable for comment.

Official data shows that of the 467 approved projects, 60 received subsidies of over Rs 50 lakh each. The signboard at Choudhary’s farm also shows that the promoter’s share was Rs 49.8 lakh, and he took a loan of Rs 1.49 crore from HDFC Bank for the project.

Choudhary is the BJP MP from Ajmer and has been Minister of State at the Agriculture Ministry since 2024.