Chhat Par Bagwani Yojana (Rooftop Horticulture Scheme)

What is Chhat Par Bagwani Yojana?

Chhat Par Bagwani Yojana, the rooftop horticulture scheme, is run by the Directorate of Horticulture under the Agriculture Department, Government of Bihar. The scheme puts a working kitchen garden on the roof of an urban house or flat, with the state paying three-quarters of the cost, so that city households grow their own vegetables, fruits and flowers instead of buying produce of unknown origin.

According to the Directorate of Horticulture, Chhat Par Bagwani Yojana subsidises 75 percent of a notified unit cost under two separate models. The farming-bed model covers 300 square feet at a unit cost of Rs 50,000, of which the state pays Rs 37,500 and the household pays Rs 12,500. The container or planter model has a unit cost of Rs 10,000, of which the state pays Rs 7,500 and the household pays Rs 2,500. A household may take one unit.

The scheme is deliberately urban. Bihar's other horticulture schemes assume farmland; Chhat Par Bagwani Yojana assumes a concrete roof, a municipal holding number and no land at all. Locally the scheme is spoken of simply as chhat par bagwani, and search results in Hindi use that name far more often than the formal English title.

What the unit actually contains

• Raised farming beds or a set of large containers and grow bags.
• Growing medium, a mix of soil, cocopeat, vermicompost and organic manure.
• Fruit saplings, vegetable seedlings and flowering plants.
• A drip or drum-based irrigation arrangement so the roof is not flooded.
• Basic hand tools and, in the bed model, a protective plastic base layer that keeps water off the roof slab.

Who is eligible for the rooftop horticulture scheme?

You can apply if:

• You own a house or a flat inside a notified urban area covered by the current year's scheme notice. The scheme has been operated in Patna Sadar, Danapur, Khagaul and Phulwarisharif in Patna district, and in Gaya, Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur.
• Your roof has at least 300 square feet of open, unshaded space available.
• You hold a 13-digit DBT Agriculture registration number.
• You have an Aadhaar-seeded bank account in your own name.
• Your building can structurally carry the load: apartment applicants need the society's written consent where the roof is common area.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a tenant or occupy the premises without ownership papers. Roof ownership must be documented.
• Your address falls outside the notified municipal areas for the year.
• Your available roof area is less than 300 square feet, or the roof is shaded for most of the day by taller buildings or water tanks.
• You or another member of the same household has already received a unit under the scheme. One unit per household is the rule.
• You want the subsidy in cash rather than an installed unit, that is not how the scheme works and such applications are not eligible.

How to apply for Chhat Par Bagwani Yojana

1. Register first at dbtagriculture.bihar.gov.in and note the 13-digit DBT Agriculture registration number sent to your mobile. Registration is free and is the gateway to every Bihar horticulture scheme.
2. Open horticulture.bihar.gov.in and go to the Scheme Dashboard or the "Online Portal for Schemes under Directorate of Horticulture" link.
3. Find the Chhat Par Bagwani Yojana entry for the current financial year and click Apply. If the link is greyed out, the window for the year has not opened.
4. Enter your DBT registration number. The form auto-fills your name, address and bank details from the DBT database, check them and correct anything wrong at the DBT portal before proceeding.
5. Choose your model: farming bed (300 sq ft) or planter/container — and enter the rooftop area available.
6. Upload the ownership proof, the rooftop photograph and, for apartments, the society no-objection certificate.
7. Submit the form and save the application number shown on the confirmation screen. Take a printout or screenshot.
8. Wait for the district horticulture office to verify your roof. Once selected, deposit your 25 percent share with the empanelled agency and let the unit be installed.

How to apply offline or with help

1. Visit the office of the Assistant Director (Horticulture) in your district; in Patna this sits within the district agriculture office campus.
2. Carry your Aadhaar card, holding receipt or deed, bank passbook and a photograph of the roof.
3. Ask the staff to complete the online application on your behalf using your DBT registration number. There is no separate paper form; the office simply files the same online application.
4. Alternatively, use a Vasudha Kendra (CSC). The operator can create your DBT registration and file the horticulture application in one sitting.

How much does the household actually pay?

The household share is paid to the empanelled installing agency, not to the department. No part of the government's 75 percent share is transferred to the beneficiary's own bank account, that is the single point most applicants misunderstand. The subsidy is a supply-side subsidy that reduces what you are billed.

How to check your application status

1. Return to horticulture.bihar.gov.in and open the scheme dashboard.
2. Use the application status or track application link for the rooftop scheme.
3. Enter your DBT registration number or the application number from the confirmation screen.
4. The screen shows whether your application is pending, selected for verification, approved or rejected, and names the district office handling it.

If the status has not moved for several weeks, telephone the Directorate of Horticulture on 0612-2521772 or write to dir-bhds-bih@nic.in quoting the application number.

Why rooftop gardening applications get rejected

• No DBT Agriculture registration number, or a number whose name does not match Aadhaar.
• Ownership not proved, a rent agreement or electricity bill is not ownership.
• Roof area below 300 square feet, or the measured usable area falls short at inspection.
• Address outside the notified urban blocks for that financial year.
• Duplicate application from the same household or the same holding number.
• Structural doubt: where the building is old and the inspecting officer records that the roof cannot carry filled beds.
• Target exhausted. The scheme runs on a limited annual target per city, and a technically sound application can still be waitlisted when the district target is full.

Most rejections are curable. Fix the DBT record first, because a name or bank mismatch there blocks every horticulture application you will ever file in Bihar.

Key dates and how the window works

Chhat Par Bagwani Yojana does not run continuously. The Directorate of Horticulture opens the component on its Scheme Dashboard for a defined window each financial year, usually announced through the department's social media handles and the Bihar Krishi mobile app before the link goes live. Selection within the window is typically first-come-first-served against the district target, and in over-subscribed cities a lottery has been used. Applying on the first days of the window materially improves your odds.

Grievance and contact route

• Directorate of Horticulture, Bihar: 0612-2521772
• Email: dir-bhds-bih@nic.in
• District level: Assistant Director (Horticulture) in your district agriculture office, who is the verifying and sanctioning authority
• Portal: grievance and feedback links on horticulture.bihar.gov.in

Applying under Chhat Par Bagwani Yojana is free. No agent can charge you for "getting your name added", and the only money you should ever pay is your own 25 percent share, paid against a receipt from the empanelled installing agency.