# Among beneficiaries of Centre’s scheme: wife, son, mother of IAS officer **By:** Harikishan Sharma **Published:** 2026-06-27T04:24:24+05:30 **Source:** [The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/express-exclusive/among-beneficiaries-of-centres-scheme-wife-son-mother-of-ias-officer-10759493) --- An investigation by The Indian Express has found that apart from Union Agriculture Minister Bhagirath Choudhary, three family members of Naresh Pal Gangwar, a senior IAS officer and Ministry Secretary, collectively claimed over ₹1.16 crore in NHB horticulture subsidies across five years. This is the second story of that investigation. Signboard at Gangwar family farm at village village Bhasingpura under the Jorpura Jobner Tehsil of Jaipur district in Rajasthan. (Photo credit: Harikishan Sharma) Written by: 5 min read New Delhi Jun 27, 2026 09:37 AM IST First published on: Jun 27, 2026 at 04:24 AM IST It’s not just the Union Minister. The mother, wife and son of a senior IAS officer are also among the beneficiaries in Rajasthan of the scheme under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare to promote commercial farming, records investigated by The Indian Express show. Records show the three family members of Naresh Pal Gangwar, a 1994-batch Rajasthan-cadre IAS officer, who is a Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, received a total of over Rs 1.16 crore in subsidies across five years under the scheme. Titled “Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and Post-Harvest Management of Horticulture crops”, the scheme is run by National Horticulture Board (NHB) under the Union Agriculture Ministry. Also Read | Union Minister gets Rs 99-lakh subsidy for his cucumber farm — from scheme under own ministry According to records, Gangwar has disclosed details of only one project approved under the scheme in the mandatory annual declaration of immovable property with the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for 2021-22. Gangwar told The Indian Express that service rules mandate that he declare only the large scale for profit — of select vegetables and flowers comes under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), which was launched in 2014-15 and is administered by the National Horticulture Board (NHB), an autonomous organisation under the administrative control of Choudhary’s Ministry. Records show the subsidies obtained by his family are all for projects in Jaipur district. Consider this: A project by Gangwar’s mother Bindumati for cucumber cultivation in Bhasingpura village, under Jorpura Jobner Tehsil, received Rs 46.03 lakh in subsidy to her bank account in January 2025. The project area and cost: 8,880 sq m; Rs 99.38 lakh. At the time, Gangwar was posted as Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. A project by Gangwar’s son Kumar Writwik for cucumber cultivation in Dhani Boraj village under Jorpura Jobner Tehsil received Rs 46.49 lakh in subsidy in his bank account in March 2023. The area and project cost: 8,736 sq m; Rs 97.94 lakh. Gangwar was Additional Secretary in the Environment Ministry. A project listed in the name of Gangwar’s wife Dr Ranjita Singh “and Others”, for cultivating cucumbers at Dhani Boraj village under Phulera Tehsil, received a subsidy of Rs 24.36 lakh in her bank account in 2021-22. The project area and cost: 4,048 sq m; Rs 49.31 lakh. Gangwar was Agriculture Production Commissioner & Principal Secretary in the Rajasthan government when the application process began in May 2020. Later, he served in the state as Principal Secretary, Industries/ MSME/ Investment & NRIs, and OSD, Bhiwadi Integrated Development Authority, till December 2020. In his declaration of immovable property for 2024-2025, filed on January 1, 2026 with DoPT, Gangwar declared agricultural land at Khasra No. 1203/544 & 1205/544 in Dhani Boraj village under the names of his wife, mother, son and daughter. “A project of Rs.50 lacs for commercial horticulture on the said land by the owners (Ranjita Singh, Bindumati, Kumar Writwik, Chitrangda Singh) have been sanctioned by NHB under “Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and Post Harvest Management of Horticulture Crops” scheme,” Gangwar noted in his declaration. Also Read | A farmers’ meet yields a political harvest: Congress targets Governors over BJP event attendance “The project will be funded by Bank loan and subsidy from NHB (75% of the project cost) and owners’ contributions (25% of the project cost). The owners’ contribution is being mobilized by the owners from their own savings. Other development works and associated infrastructure, such as, office-cum-residence water harvesting system, boundary wall, etc. [Approx. cost is around Rs 40 lakhs], from their own savings,” the declaration stated. All India Services (AIS) Conduct Rules, 1968, state that Class I & Class II officers are required to disclose all details of all immovable property owned, acquired or inherited or held on lease or mortgage, either in own name or in the name of any member of family or in the name of any other dependent. Responding to an emailed query from The Indian Express, Gangwar said that “section 2 (b) of AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968 provides the definition of ‘Member of Family’ which states that the persons (including parents or Son/Daughter) wholly dependent on the Government Servant covers under the definition of Member of Family”. “In this regard, it is hereby informed that my mother (Smt. Bindumati) and my son (Kumar Writwik) are not dependent on me. In my service records also, it is clearly mentioned that they are not dependent on me. As they are not dependent on me, as per AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968, the information pertaining to them is not required to be filled in the Annual Property Return,” he said. Harikishan Sharma, Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express' National Bureau, specializes in re... # Bhagirath Choudhary # Express investigation Share Whatsapp twitter Facebook Latest Comment Post Comment Read Comments