Sugandhit Evam Aushadhiya Paudhe Yojana (Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Scheme - CDP)
Bihar state government scheme
Sugandhit Evam Aushadhiya Paudhe Yojana is Bihar's aromatic and medicinal plants scheme under the Cluster Development Programme, offering grant-in-aid reported at around Rs 75,000 per hectare for lemongrass, palmarosa, khas, shatavari, tulsi and mulberry in eleven notified districts. Farmers apply free at horticulture.bihar.gov.in.
What is Sugandhit Evam Aushadhiya Paudhe Yojana?
Sugandhit Evam Aushadhiya Paudhe Yojana, the aromatic and medicinal plants scheme, is run by the Directorate of Horticulture under the Agriculture Department, Government of Bihar, as a component of the department's Cluster Development Programme. The scheme gives grant-in-aid to farmers who move part of their land out of paddy and wheat and into aromatic and medicinal crops that fetch a better return per acre on marginal soil.
According to statements by the Bihar Agriculture Department, the scheme provides grant-in-aid reported at around Rs 75,000 per hectare for cultivating lemongrass, palmarosa, shatavari, tulsi, khas (vetiver) and mulberry, and has been implemented mainly in Gaya, Jamui, Nawada, East Champaran, West Champaran, Supaul, Saharsa, Khagaria, Vaishali, Kaimur and Rohtas: districts picked for their soil and climate. Medicinal tree species such as aonla, bael, tamarind, jackfruit and lemon have also been promoted alongside.
The economics are the point. A hectare of lemongrass in south Bihar yields several tonnes of herb per cut with three or four cuts a year, and the distilled oil sells to the flavour, fragrance and ayurvedic industry. Palmarosa and khas behave similarly. All three tolerate the shallow, stony, water-short land of the Gaya-Nawada-Jamui belt where paddy struggles, and crucially none of them is grazed by nilgai. A real constraint in that region that farmers rank above almost every other risk.
Who is eligible for the aromatic and medicinal plants subsidy?
You can apply if:
- Your land lies in one of the notified cluster districts for the current financial year.
- You hold a 13-digit DBT Agriculture registration number from dbtagriculture.bihar.gov.in.
- You have land records in your own name, or a registered lease if you farm as a non-ryot.
- You hold an Aadhaar-seeded bank account in your own name.
- You are willing to plant the notified crop on the sanctioned area and let it be inspected.
You cannot apply if:
- Your plot is outside the notified districts for the year. Cluster components are geographically restricted by design and applications from other districts are not eligible.
- You want to grow a crop that is not on the notified list for the year.
- You have no land record and no registered lease.
- The same plot has already been funded for the same crop in an earlier year.
- Your bank account is not Aadhaar-seeded, since grant release is by DBT only.
How to apply for the aromatic and medicinal plants scheme
- Register at dbtagriculture.bihar.gov.in and note your 13-digit DBT Agriculture registration number. Registration is free.
- Confirm the land record attached to your DBT profile shows the correct khata, khesra, village and district.
- Open horticulture.bihar.gov.in and go to the Scheme Dashboard or the "Online Portal for Schemes under Directorate of Horticulture" link.
- Find the aromatic and medicinal plants component for the current financial year. If no link appears, the window is closed.
- Enter your DBT registration number so the form loads your verified details.
- Select the crop; lemongrass, palmarosa, khas, tulsi, shatavari or mulberry — and the area in hectares you are committing.
- Upload Aadhaar, land records or registered lease, bank passbook, photograph and, if claiming a reserved seat, your caste certificate.
- Submit and save the application number from the confirmation screen.
- After sanction, plant in the notified season and request physical verification. Grant follows verification by DBT.
How to apply with help
- Visit the Assistant Director (Horticulture) at your district agriculture office, or your block agriculture coordinator.
- Carry Aadhaar, land papers, bank passbook and your DBT registration number.
- Ask the office to file the online application for you: there is no separate offline route, only assisted online filing.
- Collect the acknowledgement with the application number.
A Vasudha Kendra (CSC) can complete both the DBT registration and the horticulture application in one visit.
Which crops suit which conditions
| Crop | Local name | Why Bihar promotes it |
|---|---|---|
| Lemongrass | Nimbu ghas | Grows on poor, dry soil; three to four cuts a year; distilled for citral-rich oil |
| Palmarosa | Rusa ghas | Drought-tolerant grass yielding geraniol oil; suits south Bihar uplands |
| Khas (vetiver) | Khas | Deep-rooted grass, stabilises soil and river banks, roots yield a premium oil |
| Tulsi | Tulsi | Short-duration medicinal crop with steady demand from ayurvedic buyers |
| Shatavari | Satawar | Perennial medicinal root crop, three-year cycle, high value per hectare |
| Mulberry | Shahtoot | Feeds sericulture and yields fruit; already established in parts of Bihar |
Not every crop is notified in every district or every year. The cluster design concentrates one or two crops in a defined block so that a distillation or processing unit and a buyer link become viable.
How to check your application status
- Open horticulture.bihar.gov.in and go to the scheme dashboard.
- Use the application status link for the aromatic and medicinal plants component.
- Enter your DBT registration number or application number.
- The screen shows submitted, sanctioned, verified or paid.
If payment shows released but the money has not arrived, the fault is almost always in the bank details on your DBT Agriculture profile, not on the horticulture portal. Correct it there.
Why applications get rejected
- District not notified for the cluster in that year, the most common reason and one no district office can override.
- Crop not on the notified list for the applicant's district.
- Land record mismatch between the DBT profile and the plot claimed.
- No registered lease for non-ryot applicants.
- Duplicate funding of the same plot and crop.
- Crop not planted or planted on a different plot at verification.
- Target exhausted for the block or district.
What this scheme does not solve, and should
Bihar's honest constraint in aromatic crops is not planting but processing and marketing. Lemongrass herb has almost no value unsold and undistilled; the money is in the oil. Farmers entering this scheme should establish, before planting, where the nearest distillation unit is and who buys the oil. Cluster groups, farmer producer organisations and the National Medicinal Plants Board's own scheme components are the routes commonly used to fund a shared still. A grower who takes the cultivation grant and then finds no distillation within reach has taken on a real loss, and this is the single most important practical question to settle before applying.
Key dates
The component opens in a notified window each financial year on the Scheme Dashboard, timed to the planting season for the crop concerned; lemongrass and palmarosa slips go in with the early monsoon in most of Bihar. Announcements come through horticulture.bihar.gov.in, the Bihar Krishi mobile app and the Directorate's social media handles. Cluster targets are small; file in the opening days of a window.
Grievance and contact route
- Directorate of Horticulture, Bihar: 0612-2521772
- Email: dir-bhds-bih@nic.in
- District level: Assistant Director (Horticulture), district agriculture office
- Kisan Call Centre: 1800-180-1551
Applying is free. Rates and crop lists under this component change from year to year, so treat the Rs 75,000 per hectare figure as the reported order of magnitude and confirm the exact current rate for your crop and district on the component notice before you commit land to it.
Documents required
Frequently asked questions
Which crops are covered by the Bihar aromatic and medicinal plants scheme?
The Bihar Agriculture Department has promoted lemongrass, palmarosa, khas (vetiver), shatavari, tulsi and mulberry under this scheme, alongside medicinal tree species such as aonla, bael, tamarind, jackfruit and lemon. The exact crop list is notified afresh each financial year.
How much assistance does the scheme give?
The Bihar Agriculture Department has been reported as providing grant-in-aid of around Rs 75,000 per hectare for cultivation of these aromatic and medicinal crops. Rates differ crop by crop, so check the current-year component notice on horticulture.bihar.gov.in before budgeting.
Which districts are covered?
The scheme has been implemented mainly in Gaya, Jamui, Nawada, East Champaran, West Champaran, Supaul, Saharsa, Khagaria, Vaishali, Kaimur and Rohtas, chosen for climate and soil suitability. Coverage is notified afresh each year under the cluster approach.
Why does Bihar promote lemongrass and palmarosa?
Lemongrass and palmarosa are distilled for essential oils, tolerate poor and marginal soils, need little irrigation, and are largely left alone by livestock and nilgai. That makes them a practical alternative on land where paddy or wheat gives a poor return.
Do I need a distillation unit to grow lemongrass?
Not to apply for the cultivation component, but distillation is what makes the crop pay. Assistance for distillation units has been available under the National Medicinal Plants Board and state cluster arrangements, and farmers in a cluster commonly share a unit rather than each buying one.
Can a farmer outside the notified districts apply?
No. The cluster component is restricted to the districts notified for the year, because the whole design depends on concentrating enough area in one place to justify a processing and marketing link. Farmers elsewhere are not eligible under this component.
Is the money paid before planting?
No. Assistance under Bihar's horticulture components is released by Direct Benefit Transfer after the district horticulture office verifies that the crop has actually been planted on the sanctioned plot.
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