Greenhouse Polythene Replacement Scheme - Uttarakhand

What is the Greenhouse Polythene Replacement Scheme?

Greenhouse Polythene Replacement Scheme, in Hindi, Polyhouse ke Polythene Badlav ki Yojana, is a state-sector scheme of the Department of Horticulture and Food Processing, Government of Uttarakhand, implemented by the State Horticulture Mission. It appears at serial number 3 of the department's official State DBT Mission list with scheme code 2401001190323, so the assistance reaches the farmer as a Direct Benefit Transfer.

The scheme solves a problem that only becomes obvious a few years after a polyhouse is built. The steel or bamboo frame of a polyhouse lasts a long time. The polythene film stretched over it does not. Ultraviolet radiation, hail, wind and the freeze-thaw cycle of a hill winter degrade the sheet, and once the film goes brittle, tears or loses light transmission, the structure stops doing its job. A farmer then faces a bill of a lakh or more for re-sheeting a structure that is otherwise perfectly sound; often at exactly the moment when the original capital subsidy is long spent. Many Uttarakhand polyhouses were abandoned for precisely this reason. The state's answer was to fund the sheet separately.

How much subsidy does the scheme give?

According to the subsidy schedule published by the Directorate of Horticulture and Food Processing at Chaubattia-Ranikhet, Almora:

Worked through, that means:

• The department values the polythene at Rs 50 per square metre.
• It pays 75 per cent of that, which is Rs 37.50 per square metre.
• The farmer contributes the remaining Rs 12.50 per square metre.
• At the full 4,000 square metre ceiling, the subsidy comes to Rs 1,50,000 and the farmer's share to Rs 50,000.

A typical 500 square metre polyhouse. The size the state's own Chief Minister Protected Cultivation Scheme funds at 80 per cent: would draw about Rs 18,750 of polythene subsidy against a farmer contribution of about Rs 6,250.

Who is eligible for polythene replacement?

You can apply if:

• You already own a polyhouse or greenhouse standing on land held by you in Uttarakhand.
• The structure is more than five years old, which is the age test written into the department's norms.
• The existing polythene is genuinely worn out, torn or degraded, and this can be seen by a horticulture inspector on site.
• You have an Aadhaar number and a bank account in your own name that can take a DBT credit.
• The area you are claiming is within the 4,000 square metre ceiling.

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

• Your polyhouse was built or last re-sheeted less than five years ago. A recently sheeted structure is not eligible.
• You do not own a polyhouse at all. This scheme funds replacement only. A new structure has to be applied for under the Chief Minister Protected Cultivation Scheme or the Horticulture Mission.
• The plot is not recorded in your name and no registered lease is produced.
• You cannot produce a purchase bill for the polythene. The claim is settled against the actual purchase.
• The bank account offered is in a family member's name rather than your own; DBT will not credit a third-party account.

What documents are required?

The file needs a written application on the departmental protected-cultivation format, the record or sanction letter of the original polyhouse to prove its age, your Aadhaar card, the first page of your bank passbook, and the khasra / khatauni for the plot. At the settlement stage you must produce a quotation or bill for UV-stabilised polythene. Photographs of the damaged sheet are helpful but not decisive; the inspector's site note is what the file turns on.

How to apply for the Greenhouse Polythene Replacement Scheme

1. Collect or download the application format. The department publishes a "Protected cultivation" format at shm.uk.gov.in/application-formats/; printed copies are also available at the District Horticulture Office.
2. Write the application stating the polyhouse area in square metres, the year it was built, the year the current polythene was fitted, and the area for which you want replacement.
3. Attach the papers. The original polyhouse sanction or record, Aadhaar, the bank passbook page, and the land record.
4. Submit the file at the District Horticulture Office and take a dated acknowledgement from the District Horticulture Officer or Chief Horticulture Officer.
5. Allow the site inspection. A horticulture inspector visits, confirms the structure is more than five years old, measures the covered area and records the condition of the film.
6. Wait for the sanction against the district's annual target. The sanction letter names the approved area and the subsidy amount at Rs 37.50 per square metre.
7. Buy and fit the polythene, keeping the supplier's bill and payment proof.
8. Submit the bills for settlement. After the completion check, the 75 per cent share is credited to your Aadhaar-seeded account under DBT scheme code 2401001190323.

How to check the status of your application

Uttarakhand does not publish an online status tracker for this scheme. The reliable route is to quote your acknowledgement number and date at the District Horticulture Office and ask which stage the file is at, registration, inspection, sanction, or post-completion payment. Where the sanction has issued but the money has not arrived, ask the office to check the DBT failure reason, which is usually an Aadhaar-seeding or account-status problem at the bank.

Why polythene replacement claims get rejected

• Structure less than five years old. This is the commonest disqualification and it cannot be waived at district level.
• No record of the original polyhouse, so the age cannot be established.
• Area over-claimed — the inspector's measurement, not the applicant's statement, fixes the payable area.
• Purchase made before sanction without the pre-sanction inspection on record.
• No bill, or a bill from a supplier the office cannot verify.
• District target exhausted for the financial year, in which case ask for the application to be carried forward rather than filing afresh.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded.

Related schemes worth knowing

• Chief Minister Protected Cultivation Scheme to 80 per cent subsidy (50 per cent central share plus 30 per cent state share) for a new polyhouse of up to 500 square metres.
• Shade net house under the Horticulture Mission to 50 per cent on a cost of Rs 710 per square metre for a tubular structure, Rs 492 for a wooden frame and Rs 360 for a bamboo frame, up to 4,000 square metres.
• Anti-hail net to 50 per cent or a maximum of Rs 17.50 per square metre, up to 5,000 square metres.
• Plastic mulching to 50 per cent of Rs 32,000 per hectare, up to 2 hectares, with a 15 per cent additional allowance for hilly areas.
• Per Drop More Crop under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana for drip and sprinkler irrigation inside and outside the structure, at 45 per cent for general farmers and 55 per cent for small and marginal farmers, up to 5 hectares.

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 own district; the district-wise contact list is published under "Who's Who" on shm.uk.gov.in.

There is no application fee, and the subsidy is credited only to the beneficiary's own bank account.