Chief Minister Protected Cultivation Scheme - Uttarakhand

What is the Chief Minister Protected Cultivation Scheme?

Chief Minister Protected Cultivation Scheme: recorded in Hindi as Mukhyamantri Sanrakshit Udyan Vikas Yojana: is a state-sector scheme of the Department of Horticulture and Food Processing, Government of Uttarakhand. It sits at serial number 2 of the department's official State DBT Mission list with scheme code 2401001190316, so all assistance is released as a Direct Benefit Transfer into the beneficiary's bank account.

The scheme exists to put a polyhouse, a covered, controlled-environment structure: on the farms of ordinary Uttarakhand growers so that they can produce vegetables and flowers outside the normal season. In the hills, an open field crop is at the mercy of hail, frost, monsoon damage and wild animals. A polyhouse removes most of that risk, lengthens the growing window and lets a farmer sell into the high-price months when open-field produce is not available.

How much subsidy does the scheme give?

According to the subsidy schedule published by the Directorate of Horticulture and Food Processing, the scheme provides:

The 80 per cent figure is the whole point of this scheme. The centrally sponsored Horticulture Mission already funds protected cultivation at 50 per cent of cost. Uttarakhand adds a 30 per cent state share on top for structures of up to 500 square metres, which brings the farmer's own contribution down to roughly one-fifth of the project cost. That is the difference between a polyhouse being a rich farmer's investment and being something a small hill grower can actually attempt.

What the underlying cost norms look like

The department fixes per-square-metre cost norms for polyhouse types under the Horticulture Mission, and those norms are what the percentage is applied to. The published slabs are:

Fan-and-pad system polyhouse

• Up to 500 sq m, Rs 1,650 per sq m
• 500 to 1,008 sq m: Rs 1,465 per sq m
• 1,008 to 2,080 sq m, Rs 1,420 per sq m
• 2,080 to 4,000 sq m, Rs 1,400 per sq m

Tubular structure polyhouse

• Up to 500 sq m, Rs 1,060 per sq m
• 500 to 1,008 sq m, Rs 935 per sq m
• 1,008 to 2,080 sq m — Rs 890 per sq m
• 2,080 to 4,000 sq m, Rs 844 per sq m

A 15 per cent additional allowance applies for hilly areas in both tables, which recognises the higher cost of carrying material up a hill road. Related structures the same department funds are shade net houses at 50 per cent of Rs 710 per sq m for a tubular structure, Rs 492 per sq m for a wooden frame and Rs 360 per sq m for a bamboo frame, and anti-hail net at 50 per cent or a maximum of Rs 17.50 per sq m up to 5,000 sq m.

Who is eligible for the protected cultivation subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You are a farmer or horticulture grower resident in Uttarakhand.
• You hold cultivable land in your own name, evidenced by a khasra or khatauni entry, or hold it on a registered long lease.
• Your plot has an assured water source, because a polyhouse crop cannot survive on rainfall alone.
• You have an Aadhaar number and a bank account in your own name capable of receiving DBT.
• The structure you propose is within the 500 square metre ceiling for the 80 per cent rate.

You cannot apply, or will not be eligible, if:

• The land is outside Uttarakhand, or you are not a resident of the state.
• The plot has no recorded holder and no lease, an unrecorded or disputed plot is not eligible and the file will not clear inspection.
• You have already taken a polyhouse subsidy for the same plot and the same component; a repeat claim on the same structure is not admissible.
• You want the 80 per cent rate on a structure larger than 500 square metres. The area above the ceiling is not eligible for the state top-up, though it may qualify at 50 per cent under the Horticulture Mission.
• The bank account offered is not in your own name. DBT will not credit a third-party account.

What documents are required?

The essential set is the protected cultivation application format, your Aadhaar card, the first page of your bank passbook, and the khasra / khatauni for the plot. Before sanction you will also need a quotation from a polyhouse fabricator, because the sanction letter has to name a cost. Evidence of a water source is checked at inspection even where it is not a listed attachment, and a site photograph speeds up the inspector's visit.

How to apply for the Chief Minister Protected Cultivation Scheme

1. Download the "Protected cultivation" application format from shm.uk.gov.in/application-formats/, or collect a printed copy from your District Horticulture Office.
2. Fill in the form with your name exactly as on Aadhaar, your village, block and district, the khasra number of the plot, the proposed polyhouse area in square metres, and the crop you intend to grow.
3. Attach the documents; Aadhaar, bank passbook page, land record and the fabricator's quotation.
4. Submit the file at the District Horticulture Office to the District Horticulture Officer or Chief Horticulture Officer, and collect a dated acknowledgement.
5. Allow the pre-sanction inspection. A horticulture inspector visits the plot, checks the water source and the site levelling, and records whether the plot is fit for a polyhouse.
6. Receive the sanction letter against the district's annual target. It names the approved area, the cost norm and the subsidy amount.
7. Erect the structure through the fabricator, keeping all bills and payment receipts.
8. Get the completion inspection done and submit the bills. The 80 per cent subsidy is then released to your Aadhaar-seeded account under DBT scheme code 2401001190316.

How to check the status of your application

There is no public self-service tracker for this state-sector scheme. Quote the acknowledgement number and date at the District Horticulture Office and ask which of the four stages your file is at: registration, pre-sanction inspection, sanction, or post-completion payment. If sanction has issued but no money has arrived, the problem is almost always at the bank end. An unseeded Aadhaar or a closed account, and the office can pull the DBT failure reason.

Why polyhouse subsidy files get rejected or delayed

• No assured water source at the site, which is the single most common reason an otherwise good file is turned down.
• Land record not in the applicant's name and no registered lease produced.
• District annual target exhausted. The scheme is target-bound, so a late application may simply be carried to the next financial year.
• Structure built before sanction. Building first and applying afterwards usually breaks the sanction sequence, because there is no pre-sanction inspection on record.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT credit fails.
• Area claimed above 500 square metres at the 80 per cent rate.

After the polyhouse is up

Two follow-on schemes of the same department are worth knowing about. The Greenhouse Polythene Replacement Scheme pays 75 per cent of a polythene cost of Rs 50 per square metre, up to 4,000 square metres, when a polyhouse older than five years needs new sheeting. And planting material inside a protected structure is itself assisted at 50 per cent; Rs 140 per sq m for vegetable seedlings, Rs 700 per sq m for orchid and anthurium, Rs 610 per sq m for carnation and gerbera and Rs 426 per sq m for rose, up to 4,000 square metres.

Who to contact for help

• Director, Horticulture and Food Processing to 05966-222792, Udyan Bhawan, Chaubattia-Ranikhet, Almora.
• State Horticulture Mission: Government Garden, Circuit House, Dehradun

• Joint Director, Garhwal Region, Pauri to 01368-222227.
• Joint Director, Kumaon Region, Nainital to 05942-221288.
• District Horticulture Officer of your district; the full district-wise list is published under "Who's Who" on shm.uk.gov.in.

Applying is free. The subsidy is credited only to the beneficiary's own account, and no agent may charge a fee for getting a polyhouse file sanctioned.