India, July 29 -- Bhagirath Choudhary, Union minister of state for agriculture, has refunded a Rs.99-lakh subsidy he had availed for his cucumber farm under a scheme administered by his own ministry, the government has told the Lok Sabha.

In a written reply on Tuesday, MoS (agriculture) Ramnath Thakur said financial assistance under National Horticulture Board (NHB) schemes "is provided in the form of credit-linked back-ended capital investment subsidy to eligible farmers and entrepreneurs for development of commercial horticulture, protected cultivation, post-harvest management and cold chain infrastructure".

On the refund, Thakur did not say when the money was paid back.

"Bhagirath Choudhary has communicated that he has refunded the ...