Union minister of state for agriculture and farmers' welfare Bhagirath Choudhary has refunded the ₹99 lakh subsidy he received under a national horticulture board (NHB) scheme, with the Union government informing the Lok Sabha that the concerned bank has been directed to return the subsidy amount to the NHB.
The government also disclosed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Lumba Ram, a serving member of Parliament (MP) from Sirohi in Rajasthan, received financial assistance under NHB schemes during the last five years. At the same time, the government acknowledged that the existing NHB scheme guidelines do not contain any specific provision on conflict of interest or recusal for applications submitted by public functionaries or their immediate family members.
The disclosures came in a written reply by minister of state for agriculture and farmers' welfare Ramnath Thakur to a question from Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who sought details of serving Union ministers, MPs or their immediate family members who had received financial assistance under NHB schemes during the past five years. He also asked whether the government had framed any conflict-of-interest or recusal policy for such applicants.
In
its reply, the government said Mr Ram, the MP from Sirohi, received financial assistance under the NHB scheme in 2025, while Mr Choudhary, the Union minister of state for agriculture and farmers' welfare and MP from Ajmer, Rajasthan, received assistance in 2026.
Referring to the minister's case, the government said, "Bhagirath Choudhary has communicated that he has refunded the subsidy to the bank concerned under the scheme. The concerned bank has been directed to return the subsidy amount to NHB."
The disclosure follows reports published last month that Mr Choudhary had received a ₹99 lakh subsidy for a protected cucumber cultivation project under the NHB's commercial horticulture scheme, which is administered by the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers' welfare. The subsidy had drawn criticism because the scheme falls under the administrative control of the ministry in which Mr Choudhary serves as minister of state.
The government, however, maintained that the NHB processes applications through a transparent mechanism and treats all eligible applicants equally. According to the reply, applications are considered solely on the basis of eligibility criteria and compliance with the scheme's provisions.
On safeguards against potential conflicts of interest, the government made it clear 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."
The reply also explained that financial assistance under NHB schemes is provided as a credit-linked back-ended capital investment subsidy to eligible farmers and entrepreneurs for projects related to commercial horticulture, protected cultivation, post-harvest management and cold chain infrastructure.
The government did not indicate whether it proposes to amend the NHB guidelines to introduce conflict-of-interest provisions or recusal requirements for elected representatives, ministers or their immediate family members applying for financial assistance under the schemes.
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