Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Bhagirath Choudhary has returned a subsidy of nearly ₹99 lakh that he received for a commercial cucumber farming project under a scheme administered by his own ministry, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha.
The development comes about a month after an investigation by The Indian Express reported that Choudhary had benefited from a National Horticulture Board (NHB) subsidy for his farm in Rajasthan. The payment had raised questions about a possible conflict of interest because the NHB functions under the administrative control of the Agriculture Ministry, where Choudhary serves as Minister of State.
In a written reply in Parliament, Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur said Choudhary had informed the authorities that he had refunded the subsidy to the bank concerned. The bank has subsequently been directed to return the amount to the National Horticulture Board.
The clarification came in response to a question from Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who sought details of subsidies received by serving Union ministers, MPs and their immediate family members under NHB schemes during the past five years. Banerjee also asked whether the government had any specific conflict-of-interest or recusal rules for public representatives or their family members applying for such benefits.
The government’s response made an important point: the existing NHB scheme guidelines do not contain any specific provision requiring conflict-of-interest disclosure or recusal when applications are submitted by public functionaries or their family members.
That gap is at the centre of the controversy.
Choudhary’s project is located in Peeh village in Rajasthan’s Deedwana-Kuchaman district and covers 16,592 square metres, or roughly four acres. The project was established for commercial cucumber cultivation and had an estimated cost of around ₹1.99 crore. The subsidy was sanctioned under the NHB’s “Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and Post-Harvest Management of Horticulture Crops” scheme.
The scheme operates under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a government programme launched in 2014-15 to promote modern and commercial horticulture. It provides financial assistance for selected vegetables, flowers, protected cultivation, post-harvest management and related infrastructure.
Eligible projects can receive assistance of up to 50 per cent of the project cost, subject to a ceiling of ₹1 crore per family. Crops covered include cucumber, capsicum and tomato, along with flowers such as roses, anthuriums and orchids.
According to the investigation, Choudhary’s project was among 467 projects approved by the NHB in 2025 under the commercial horticulture scheme. The subsidy was credited through a lending bank account. Earlier reports put the amount shown on the mandatory farm signboard at ₹99.60 lakh, while the amount actually credited was reported as about ₹99.03 lakh, leaving a difference of around ₹57,000.
The issue attracted attention because Choudhary is not simply an ordinary beneficiary of an agriculture scheme. As Agriculture Minister of State, he holds a senior position within the ministry that oversees the NHB. The NHB’s governing structure includes the Union Agriculture Minister as president and the Minister of State as vice-president, although the committee that gives final approval to individual subsidy projects does not include the ministers themselves.
The minister had earlier defended the subsidy, saying he was a farmer and that he had applied under the scheme like other eligible farmers. He also said the application had been made before the controversy emerged and that nothing had been hidden from the authorities. His position was that the project followed the prescribed rules and was intended to demonstrate modern farming techniques to other farmers.
Opposition parties, however, questioned the propriety of a serving agriculture minister receiving such a substantial government subsidy from a programme administered by his own ministry. The issue became a political flashpoint, with critics arguing that even when a transaction is technically permitted by the rules, public officials should avoid situations that could create a perception of preferential treatment or conflict of interest.
The government has now confirmed the refund, bringing a new turn to the controversy. The Centre’s response, however, does not say that the subsidy was granted in violation of the existing NHB guidelines. Instead, it confirms that Choudhary has voluntarily refunded the amount and that the bank has been instructed to send the money back to the NHB.
The parliamentary reply also disclosed that another BJP MP from Rajasthan, Lumbaram Choudhary, received financial assistance under an NHB scheme during the last five years. According to the government, Lumbaram Choudhary received the assistance in 2025, while Bhagirath Choudhary received his assistance in 2026.
