Junior Agriculture Minister Took Subsidy For His Farm, Returned It: Centre

Union Minister Bhagirath Choudhary and BJP MP Lumba Ram had received financial assistance under a scheme of the National Horticulture Board in the last five years, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday, adding that Choudhary had, however, refunded the subsidy.

In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur said, "Financial assistance under the National Horticulture Board (NHB) schemes is provided in the form of credit-linked back-ended capital investment subsidy to eligible farmers and entrepreneurs for development of commercial horticulture, protected cultivation, post-harvest management and cold chain infrastructure." The minister provided details of serving Union Ministers, Members of Parliament, and their immediate family members who have received financial assistance under the NHB Schemes during the last five years.

As per the list, Lumba Ram (MP for Sirohi, Rajasthan) in 2025 and Bhagirath Choudhary (Union Minister of State for Agriculture and MP for Ajmer, Rajasthan) received financial assistance in 2026.

"Bhagirath Choudhary has communicated that he has refunded the subsidy to the bank concerned under the Scheme. The bank concerned has been directed to return the subsidy amount to NHB," Thakur informed.

The minister also stated that the existing NHB Scheme Guidelines do not contain any specific provision regarding conflict of interest or recusal in respect of applications submitted by public functionaries or their family members.

Thakur was replying to a query by Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, who wanted to know whether any serving Union Minister, Member of Parliament, or their immediate family members have received subsidy under schemes of the NHB during the last five years.

Elaborating, Thakur said the schemes are open to all eligible applicants, including individuals, partnerships, companies, cooperatives and other eligible legal entities, subject to fulfilment of the prescribed eligibility conditions.

Under the schemes, he said the project land should be owned by the applicant or held on lease for a minimum period of ten years, duly reflected in the revenue records.

Thakur said the applications are processed through a transparent multi-tier mechanism.

The financing bank first sanctions the term loan and appraises the project.

Then, the NHB scrutinises the application through the Project Examination Committee (PEC) before issuing the Grant of Clearance (GoC).