Why Tarbandi
Crop damage from stray cattle, blue bull (nilgai), wild boar and even nilgai-like spotted antelope is one of the largest yield-loss sources in Rajasthan rabi cropping — particularly for mustard, gram, isabgol and wheat in eastern Rajasthan (Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Alwar), Mewar (Udaipur, Chittorgarh) and Hadoti (Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar). In the absence of effective fencing, farmers resort to all-night vigil with bonfires and noise-makers — a high labour cost and welfare burden.
The Rajasthan Tarbandi Yojana (literally "fencing scheme") provides a 60-70 % subsidy on barbed-wire fencing of farm perimeter, enabling a permanent crop-protection asset. The scheme was scaled up significantly post-2018 as a marquee crop-protection intervention.
Subsidy structure
- Individual mode: 60 % subsidy up to a ceiling of around ₹40,000 per beneficiary; covers ~400 m of perimeter.
- Cluster mode: 70 % subsidy up to around ₹48,000 per beneficiary, available when 10 farmers form a cluster with ≥5 ha contiguous land.
- Items covered: barbed wire, galvanised posts (angle iron or concrete), labour for fencing erection, and gate fittings.
- Cost-share: RKVY central cost- share + Rajasthan state plan funds.
Eligibility
- Rajasthan resident farmer with Jamabandi land record in own name.
- Minimum 1.5 ha contiguous plot for individual track.
- For cluster track: 10 farmers / ≥5 ha contiguous land in a Patwar circle.
- Aadhaar-seeded bank account.
- No prior tarbandi subsidy received on the same plot.
How to apply — step by step
- Apply on rajkisan.rajasthan.gov.in or at the nearest Krishi Vigyan Kendra. Submit Aadhaar, Jamabandi (≥1.5 ha contiguous), bank account and quotation from approved vendor.
- For cluster track: cluster of 10 farmers files jointly with cluster coordinator named; cluster land map verified by Patwari.
- Block Agriculture Officer inspects the site; perimeter measured and pre-work geo-tagged.
- On approval, farmer / cluster procures barbed wire, posts and erects fence using approved vendor or self-labour.
- Post-completion geo-tagged proof uploaded; BAO verifies; subsidy released via DBT.
Latest changes (2024 — 2026)
- 2024-25: Cluster track promoted heavily — increased subsidy share + bundled implementation reduces vendor cost per metre.
- March 2025: rajkisan portal integrated with AgriStack Farmer ID and Jamabandi auto-validation.
- August 2025: Solar-powered electric-fencing option added under a pilot in select districts (for nilgai-heavy tracts).
- 2025-26: District allocation expanded; eastern Rajasthan and Hadoti tracts prioritised.
Common rejection reasons
- Below 1.5 ha contiguous: individual track requires contiguous plot threshold.
- Jamabandi mismatch: land record differs from Aadhaar; remediate at Patwari.
- Prior tarbandi on same plot: scheme does not duplicate.
- Vendor non-empanelled: only quotations from empanelled vendors qualify for subsidy release.
- Geo-tag mismatch: pre and post geo-tagged proofs must show the same field perimeter.
- Aadhaar — bank seeding failure: DBT credit fails on NPCI side.
Grievance: Patwari (land record) → Block Agriculture Officer → District Joint Director of Agriculture → Rajasthan Agriculture Department, Jaipur.
Coverage statistics
Per Rajasthan Agriculture Department data, tens of thousands of farmers benefit annually under the Tarbandi Yojana, with cumulative perimeter fenced in the lakhs of kilometres across the state. The cluster track has emerged as a high-uptake mode in nilgai- heavy districts. State outlay runs in the ₹300-500 crore range depending on year, with RKVY and state plan funds co-financing.
How Tarbandi stacks with other schemes
Tarbandi is a crop-protection asset that complements income and credit support flowing through PM-KISAN, MLKSY and KCC-MISS. Energy-bill subsidy for tube wells under Mukhyamantri Kisan Mitra Urja eases recurring irrigation cost. PMFBY covers crop loss; MIDH and PKVY support horticulture and natural farming. Tarbandi is layered alongside these income and credit schemes as the crop-physical- security layer.