Bhausaheb Fundkar Falbag Lagvad Yojana
100% of the notified cost — from about ₹43,600 to over ₹2 lakh a hectare depending on the crop and spacing — to plant an orchard of mango, cashew, guava or one of 16 approved fruit crops, released 50:30:20 over three years.
Run by: Agriculture Department, Government of Maharashtra
- Subsidy rate
- 100% of the notified cost norm
- Per-hectare ceiling
- ≈ ₹43,600 to ₹2,02,090 (crop- and spacing-wise)
- Fruit crops
- 16 approved perennial species
- Payout split
- 50 : 30 : 20 over 3 years
- Survival needed
- 80% after year 1, 90% after year 2
- Governing GR
- 6 July 2018 (from kharif 2018-19)
- Plot size
- 0.20–6.00 ha (0.10–10.00 ha in Konkan)
Overview
Maharashtra has run a fruit-orchard planting scheme since 1990, but it was tied to MGNREGA and only farmers holding a job card — small and marginal farmers and SC/ST farmers, up to 2 hectares — could draw the subsidy. Around 80% of the state's farmers are small or marginal, yet many have no job card, so they were shut out. Bhausaheb Fundkar Falbag Lagvad Yojana was created to cover exactly those farmers, with 100% state funding.
It is named after Pandurang "Bhausaheb" Fundkar, the state's Agriculture and Horticulture Minister, who died in office on 31 May 2018. The scheme was approved by a Government Resolution dated 6 July 2018 and has run from the kharif season of 2018-19.
The subsidy pays for the whole job of establishing a new orchard on the government-approved cost norm: digging pits, the grafts (or coconut seedlings), plant protection, gap-filling of plants that die, and a mandatory drip-irrigation set. It is not a flat amount — each fruit crop has its own per-hectare ceiling at the notified spacing, running from about ₹43,596 a hectare for jackfruit at 10×10 m up to ₹2,02,090 for high-density guava at 3×2 m. Mango at the standard 10×10 m spacing, for instance, works out to ₹53,561 a hectare.
The money is deliberately released in three yearly instalments — 50% in year one, 30% in year two, 20% in year three — and the later instalments are paid only if the farmer keeps at least 80% of the plants alive at the end of year one and 90% at the end of year two. Fall below that and the farmer forfeits the balance and can be asked to repay what was already paid, with interest.
What you get
The benefit as the state notifies it — nothing here is an estimate.
- 100% subsidy on orchard establishment — pit digging, grafts, plant protection, gap-filling and a mandatory drip set — on the notified cost norm.
- Covers 16 approved fruit crops: mango, cashew, guava, pomegranate, orange, sweet lime (mosambi), acid lime (kagzi), coconut, custard apple (sitaphal), amla, tamarind, jamun, kokum, jackfruit, fig (anjeer) and sapota (chikoo).
- Reaches the roughly 80% of Maharashtra farmers who are small or marginal but have no MGNREGA job card and so were left out of the older orchard scheme.
- Paid 50:30:20 across three years and tied to plant survival, not one lump sum on planting.
- Drip irrigation is fully funded — first from PMKSY / other central-state funds, and the remainder from this scheme.
- Applied for and tracked through the MahaDBT portal like Maharashtra's other farm subsidies.
Who is eligible
State schemes usually state their criteria as prose rather than a checklist. This is that prose, unpacked — the department’s verification is what decides.
You qualify if
- Individual farmer in Maharashtra with cultivable land in their own name on the 7/12 extract (institutions not eligible)
- Plot of 0.20 to 6.00 hectare — or 0.10 to 10.00 hectare in the Konkan division
- Registered and applying through the MahaDBT farmer portal
- MGNREGA job-card holders take 2 hectares under MGNREGA first and use this scheme for the rest of the plot
- Priority to families that depend only on farming, then SC/ST, small/marginal, women and disabled farmers; 30% of the target is reserved for women; forest-rights (vanpatta) holders are eligible
Not covered
- Institutional applicants and land not held in the applicant's own name
- The same plot already covered under another horticulture-planting subsidy — that area is deducted from the eligible limit
- Non-grafted planting material (except coconut, where seedlings are allowed)
Documents you need
Have these ready before you start — most rejections are a missing paper, not a missing right.
- 7/12 and 8-A land extracts
- Aadhaar card
- Aadhaar-linked nationalised bank passbook (first page)
- Caste certificate, for SC/ST farmers
- Consent letter of all co-holders if the 7/12 is jointly held
- Undertaking (hami patra) on plain paper
How to apply
Fewer steps than a central scheme, and usually one office rather than a portal.
- 1
Apply on MahaDBT after the April advertisement
The department advertises every year around April. Submit the application for orchard planting under Bhausaheb Fundkar Falbag Lagvad Yojana on mahadbt.maharashtra.gov.in within 21 days.
- 2
Lottery, pre-sanction and planting
If applications exceed the taluka target, beneficiaries are picked by lottery with a priority list. After pre-sanction (purva-sammati) you must complete planting with all components within 75 days, in the 1 May – 30 November window.
- 3
Yearly verification and instalments
A field officer checks plant survival each June. The 50% first instalment follows planting; the 30% and 20% instalments follow only if survival is at least 80% after year one and 90% after year two.
If something goes wrong
Missing from the list, or payment stuck — here is the channel the department itself publishes for it.
- A missed lottery result, a delayed instalment, or poor-quality grafts from a nursery should first go to the Taluka Agriculture Officer and then the Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer, who also heads nursery quality control under the scheme.
- If it is still not resolved, raise it on Maharashtra's Aaple Sarkar grievance portal at grievances.maharashtra.gov.in or the state helpline 1800 120 8040 (8am–8pm), where grievances are meant to be disposed of within 21 working days.
Frequently asked questions
Is the full subsidy paid upfront?
No. It is released 50% in year one, 30% in year two and 20% in year three, and the year-two and year-three instalments are paid only if you keep at least 80% of the plants alive after year one and 90% after year two.
Which fruit crops are covered?
Sixteen perennial fruit crops: mango, cashew, guava, pomegranate, orange, sweet lime (mosambi), acid lime (kagzi), coconut, custard apple (sitaphal), amla, tamarind, jamun, kokum, jackfruit, fig (anjeer) and sapota (chikoo). Each has a notified planting spacing.
How much money is it, exactly?
It is 100% of a crop-wise cost norm, not a flat figure. Examples per hectare at the notified spacing: mango 10×10 m ₹53,561; cashew 7×7 m ₹55,578; pomegranate 4.5×3 m ₹1,09,487; custard apple 5×5 m ₹72,531; jackfruit 10×10 m ₹43,596; high-density guava 3×2 m ₹2,02,090.
I do not have an MGNREGA job card — can I still apply?
Yes. This scheme was made for small and marginal farmers who do not hold a job card and could not use the older MGNREGA-linked orchard scheme. Job-card holders use MGNREGA for the first 2 hectares and this scheme for the rest.
How large a plot can I plant?
0.20 to 6.00 hectare in most of Maharashtra, and 0.10 to 10.00 hectare in the Konkan division. Area already planted under another subsidy is subtracted from your limit.
Is drip irrigation compulsory?
Yes. A drip set must be installed for the orchard and kept for at least seven years. It is fully subsidised — first from PMKSY or other central-state schemes, then the balance from this scheme's funds.
Can I plant citrus like orange or mosambi?
Yes, but a soil test is compulsory before planting citrus (orange, sweet lime, acid lime), and the farmer pays for that test.
Who was Bhausaheb Fundkar?
Pandurang "Bhausaheb" Fundkar was Maharashtra's Agriculture and Horticulture Minister and a three-time MP from Akola. He died in office on 31 May 2018, and the scheme was launched in his memory that July.
Facts checked against krishi.maharashtra.gov.in on 8 September 2026. editorial policy.