Among beneficiaries of Centre’s scheme: wife, son, mother of IAS officer

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.

“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.