Poly House Construction Subsidy Scheme (Protected Cultivation, Telangana)

What is the Poly House Construction Subsidy Scheme in Telangana?

The Poly House Construction Subsidy Scheme in Telangana is not a standalone scheme with its own portal. It is the Protected Cultivation component of the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), implemented in the state by the State Horticulture Mission under the Department of Horticulture and Sericulture, Government of Telangana.

According to the State Horticulture Mission's own scheme page, under Protected Cultivation "50% assistance is provided towards construction of naturally ventilated poly houses, net houses, and plant material of high value vegetables and flowers." That single sentence contains the two things a farmer needs to know: the rate is 50 per cent of the approved cost, and the support covers both the structure and the crop inside it.

A poly house is a framed structure covered with ultraviolet-stabilised polythene sheeting that lets a farmer control temperature, humidity and pest entry. A net house; also called a shade net house; uses shade netting instead of polythene. Both let a Telangana farmer grow capsicum, cucumber, tomato, gerbera, carnation, rose and other high-value crops outside their normal season, at yields per acre that open-field cultivation cannot reach. The state also runs Centres of Excellence at Jeedimetla for vegetables and flowers and at Mulugu for fruits, which are the practical places to see protected cultivation working before investing in it.

Why the state supports it

• Protected cultivation raises yield per acre several times over open field cultivation for the same crop.
• Growing off-season lets a farmer sell when market prices are highest.
• Water use falls sharply, because a poly house is almost always paired with drip irrigation.
• Pest and disease pressure drops, reducing pesticide spend.

Who is eligible for the poly house subsidy?

You can be sanctioned assistance if:

• You are a farmer in Telangana holding land in your own name, recorded in the pattadar passbook or title deed.
• The proposed site has an assured water source. A borewell, open well or farm pond; since a poly house crop cannot survive an interrupted supply.
• You can fund or finance the full construction cost upfront, because assistance is reimbursed after the structure is completed and inspected.
• Your Aadhaar and bank account are active and linked, for the release of assistance.

You cannot apply if:

• The land is not in your name. Tenant farmers, lessees and sharecroppers whose names do not appear in the pattadar passbook are not eligible, because the department verifies the holding against the land record.
• The site has no reliable water source. This is checked at field inspection and is a common ground for rejection.
• The same land already carries a subsidised protected cultivation structure. The component cannot be drawn twice on the same area.
• You expect payment in advance. A farmer who cannot arrange the initial construction cost, either from own funds or a bank loan, will not be able to complete the component even if sanctioned.

There is no income ceiling published for this component. What limits sanctions in practice is the district-wise physical and financial target fixed for Protected Cultivation each year under MIDH.

What does the assistance cover?

Two details decide the actual rupee figure a farmer receives.

First, assistance is calculated on the MIDH cost norm, not on the bill. MIDH fixes a cost norm per square metre for each type of structure. If a farmer builds a more expensive structure than the norm allows, the extra cost is borne entirely by the farmer, the 50 per cent applies only up to the norm.

Second, the structure type matters. A naturally ventilated poly house and a shade net house carry different cost norms, and fan-and-pad or fully climate-controlled greenhouses are treated as a separate, higher-cost category. The current year's norms are published in the MIDH implementation guidelines that the State Horticulture Mission puts up on shm.tg.nic.in, and the mission has separately issued a document titled Modification in the MIDH guidelines — Protected Cultivation. Read the current year's version before finalising a design, because these norms are revised.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the poly house subsidy in Telangana

1. Visit the Horticulture Officer at your mandal, or the District Horticulture and Sericulture Officer (DH&SO) of your district. The State Horticulture Mission's own FAQ names these two officers as the correct contact points for scheme details and applications, so this is the official route rather than a workaround.
2. Get the current year's cost norms and target position for Protected Cultivation in your district, and confirm whether the district still has target available for the year.
3. Prepare a project proposal: structure type, area in square metres, crop to be grown, water source and estimated cost from an approved firm, with the cost checked against the MIDH norm.
4. Submit the application with your documents: Aadhaar, pattadar passbook, bank passbook, water source proof and the project proposal, to the DH&SO office, and take a written acknowledgement.
5. Wait for field inspection and administrative sanction. A department officer verifies the land, the water source and the site's suitability before sanction is issued.
6. Build the structure to the approved specification. Do not change the design or the area after sanction, because the release is checked against what was sanctioned.
7. Request the completion inspection once the structure is up, and submit the bills.
8. Receive the assistance in your bank account after the inspection report is accepted.

How to check your application status

Protected Cultivation applications are processed at district level rather than through a public tracking portal, so the reliable status check is with the District Horticulture and Sericulture Officer's office, quoting the acknowledgement issued when you filed. Ask specifically about three things: whether the field inspection has been done, whether administrative sanction has been issued, and whether the district still has target left for the year. Those three answers explain almost every delay.

Why poly house subsidy applications get rejected

• Land not in the applicant's name in the pattadar passbook.
• No assured water source at the proposed site.
• District target exhausted for Protected Cultivation for that financial year, which delays rather than permanently rejects the application.
• Cost estimate far above the MIDH norm, so the sanction covers much less than the farmer expected and the project is abandoned.
• Structure built differently from the sanctioned design. A smaller area, a different frame material or a different covering than approved.
• Bills not produced at the completion stage, which stops the release even after a successful inspection.

Related components worth asking about together

A farmer building a poly house is usually eligible for other MIDH and state components on the same holding, and applying together saves a second round of paperwork:

• Micro irrigation under the Telangana Micro Irrigation Project, where SC and ST farmers get 100 per cent, BC and small and marginal farmers 90 per cent and other farmers 80 per cent of system cost. A poly house needs drip, so this pairing is the norm.
• Water harvesting structures and farm ponds, where 50 per cent assistance is provided on a pro rata basis.
• Post-harvest infrastructure, including pre-fabricated pack houses at 50 per cent of capital cost against a Rs 4 lakh cost norm for a 9m x 6m unit.
• Small nurseries up to one hectare, at 50 per cent assistance up to Rs 7.50 lakh per unit.

Help and grievance redressal

• State Horticulture Mission / Commissioner of Horticulture: 040-23232253
• Address: O/o Commissioner of Horticulture, Public Garden, Nampally, Hyderabad to 500029
• Email: midh-horti[at]telangana[dot]gov[dot]in and shmcell[dot]tg[at]gmail[dot]com
• District level: District Horticulture and Sericulture Officer (DH&SO)
• Mandal level: Horticulture Officer

Applying costs nothing. The only money a farmer should spend is on the structure itself, paid against proper bills to the supplier, since those bills are what the department checks before releasing assistance.