Financial Assistance to Dairy Farmers Belonging to Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste for Purchase of Basic Dairy Equipments

What is this Goa dairy equipment subsidy scheme?

Financial Assistance to Dairy Farmers Belonging to Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste for Purchase of Basic Dairy Equipments was launched by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Government of Goa, and is implemented by the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services. The scheme provides assistance to Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities for the purchase of basic dairy equipment needed to run small-scale dairy farming, and to encourage the tribal population to take up animal husbandry activities, especially dairy development schemes.

Applications are accepted offline through the local Veterinary Officer or Assistant Director, who scrutinises them and forwards them to the Directorate at Patto-Panaji.

How much subsidy is given?

• 100 per cent subsidy is provided for dairy items of general use.
• The subsidy is subject to a maximum of Rs 30,000, or the actual cost of the items, whichever is lower.
• The subsidy is a one-time assistance per family.
• The subsidy is credited directly to the beneficiary's bank account.
• Where the beneficiary makes a limited purchase, a proportionate subsidy is released.
• The Department releases the subsidy within 60 days of receiving the documents completed in all respects.

What items are covered and up to what amount?

Each item carries both a rupee ceiling and a unit ceiling, and the total across all items is capped at Rs 30,000. A farmer who buys three rubber mats is paid for two. A farmer who buys a costlier ceiling fan than the Rs 4,000 ceiling for two units is paid up to that ceiling and bears the rest.

Who is eligible for this dairy equipment subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Goa for at least five preceding years.
• You belong to the Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste community.
• You are a dairy farmer.
• You have at least two milch animals.
• Those two milch animals are local cows, indigenous cows, cross bred cows, local buffaloes or improved buffaloes.

You are not eligible if:

• You have already availed a subsidy under any scheme of the Government of Goa for any of the equipment applied for under this scheme.
• Any member of your family has already taken this subsidy. Since it is a one-time assistance per family, prior availment by a family member means you cannot apply.
• You have fewer than two milch animals, or your animals fall outside the specified types.
• You have lived in Goa for less than five preceding years.
• You do not belong to the Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste community.

What conditions attach to the subsidy?

• The beneficiary must use the dairy equipment purchased for the development of their dairy unit.
• The beneficiary must abide by the provisions of the scheme and comply with its Pattern of Assistance.
• The beneficiary must use the equipment for a minimum period of 3 years from the date of purchase, subject to normal wear and tear.
• The beneficiary solemnly undertakes to refund the cost of the items if they are found misutilised or missing.
• In case of breach of any clause, the Government is free to recover the subsidy released through any due benefits under other eligible schemes of the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, or under the land revenue code.

The three-year retention condition and the recovery clause together mean the equipment is not free to sell on. Recovery can be effected out of other AHVS benefits or as a land revenue arrear.

What documents are required?

During application

During benefit disbursal

How to apply for the dairy equipment subsidy

1. Take a printout of the prescribed proforma published on the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services website, ahvs.goa.gov.in.
2. Fill in all the mandatory fields, including the details of your existing milch animals, and attach self-attested copies of all mandatory documents.
3. Get the prescribed affidavit notarised, declaring that you have not availed subsidy under any Government scheme for the items you are applying for.
4. Submit the duly filled and signed application form with the documents to the local Veterinary Officer or Assistant Director.
5. The local officer scrutinises the application and verifies the documents, then forwards it to the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Patto-Panaji, with a recommendation, within 15 days of receipt.
6. The Directorate processes the application and approves it if it is found to be in order under the scheme provisions.

What happens after approval

1. Purchase the equipment. On approval, the beneficiary buys the dairy equipment and submits the original purchase receipts or bills to the local Assistant Director or Veterinary Officer within 90 days of approval.
2. Verification and certification. The concerned officer verifies the bills. Certification is done only after an inspection of the purchased equipment has been carried out. The verified and certified documents are then sent to the Head Office for release of the subsidy.
3. Release of subsidy. On receiving the documents complete in all respects, the Department releases the approved subsidy within 60 days, credited directly to the beneficiary's bank account.

The order matters. Approval comes first, then purchase, then bills. Equipment bought before approval is at the farmer's own risk, and bills submitted after 90 days from approval fall outside the window.

Why applications and claims fail

• Fewer than two milch animals, or animals outside the specified types.
• Residence of less than five preceding years in Goa.
• Subsidy already availed by the applicant or another family member for the same items, which the notarised affidavit and ration card are designed to catch.
• Affidavit not notarised, or the Aadhaar consent form left blank.
• Bills submitted after 90 days from the date of approval.
• Purchase made before approval, so the bills do not match a sanctioned application.
• Equipment not available for inspection, since certification of the bills follows a physical inspection.
• Purchase exceeding the per-item unit or rupee ceiling, in which case only the ceiling is reimbursed.
• Bank details incorrect, which stalls the direct credit.

Timelines to remember

Where to apply and get help

The first point of contact is the local Veterinary Officer or Assistant Director of the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, who receives the application, verifies documents, inspects the purchased equipment and certifies the bills. The application then travels to the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Patto-Panaji, which approves the case and releases the subsidy.

The prescribed proforma and the scheme guidelines are free downloads on ahvs.goa.gov.in. The only cost to the applicant before sanction is the notarisation of the prescribed affidavit.

How to check your application status

This scheme runs entirely offline, through the local Veterinary Officer or Assistant Director, so there is no online portal login or SMS tracker to check an application number against. Status has to be followed up in person or by phone with the office where the form was submitted.

1. Note your submission details. Keep the date you submitted the form, the name of the Veterinary Officer or Assistant Director who received it, and a photocopy of the filled application for reference when you follow up.
2. First checkpoint, around 15 days after submission. The local officer is required to scrutinise the application and forward it to the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services at Patto-Panaji within 15 days of receipt. If you have heard nothing by then, ask the local office whether your file has already been forwarded, and if so, on what date.
3. After forwarding, follow up with the Directorate. Once the file has moved to Patto-Panaji, the local officer is usually able to tell you whether it has been approved, is still under scrutiny, or has been sent back for a missing document. Approval or rejection is communicated back through the same local office, not directly to the applicant online.
4. After approval, track the purchase and inspection stage. Once approved, you have 90 days to purchase the equipment and submit the original bills. Status at this stage means confirming with the local Veterinary Officer that your bills have been received and that the physical inspection of the purchased equipment, required before certification, has been scheduled or completed.
5. After inspection, track the payout. Once the certified bills reach the Head Office, the subsidy is due within 60 days, credited directly to the bank account given at the time of application. If this window passes without credit, go back to the local office with your submission date and ask them to check the status of the file at the Directorate, since the local office is the only channel available for this scheme; there is no separate helpline number published for the scheme.

Because every stage of this process runs through the same local Veterinary Officer or Assistant Director, keeping a paper trail (dated acknowledgement of submission, photocopies of bills submitted, and the date equipment was made available for inspection) is the most reliable way to establish where an application stands if it needs to be escalated at the Directorate in Patto-Panaji.