To make state roads free of stray cattle, Haryana Government has prepared a community based action plan for the entire state.
“Under the plan, maximum districts of the state would be free from the menace of stray cattle by June 2017. Panchkula and Ambala would be declared free from stray cattle by April and the entire state by August 15,” said Rakesh Gupta, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, while presiding over a meeting of deputy commissioners of 11 districts and other officers in Sonepat during the second phase of the action plan to make the state free from stray cattle.
Gupta said that Chief Minister Manohar lal had directed to prepare a comprehensive scheme for the rehabilitation of the cattle roaming openly on the roads. For this, the Chief Minister had also directed to study the best models implemented in the country so that model selected could not only serve the purpose for a long time to come, but also taken care of the religious sentiments of the people, said he.
The study has revealed that outstanding work was being done in this direction in districts Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar with the community participation of Gram Panchayats, social-religious organisations and social workers, said Gupta. He specifically praised district Fatehabad where the villagers not only prepared ‘Phataks’ themselves to keep the cattle but also ensured the availability of fodder for them.
Gupta said that a meeting of Deputy Commissioners and Additional Deputy Commissioners of 11 districts was convened in Karnal on December 23, in which an action plan had also been prepared. Thereafter, a scheme was prepared with the assistance of Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associates of all the districts. As a result of this, while Nuh was declared free from stray cattle by January 15, Yamunanagar was declared free from the same in the first week of February and Fatehabad by February 28, he informed.
He also said that as many as 45,000 cattle in 11 districts of the state had been identified in the first phase, out of which 17,000 cattle have been shifted to different cattle-barns, Nandshalas and Gaushalas.
As there was a lot of demand for manure in Departments of Forest, Public Works (Building and Roads) and HUDA for plantation, they would be asked to purchase organic manure from Nandishalas only so as to strengthen them. Hisar is the first district in the state where all the departments would have to take no objection certificate from the district administration for procuring manure from outside, he added.
During the meeting, Director General of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, GS Jakhar informed Gupta that everyyear thousands of cows and other cattle entered Haryana from Rajasthan in search of fodder.
He said that out of these, majority of animals remained in the state and creates problems. The Department is in the process of putting a system in place under which it would be made mandatory to get the registration done of all such animals after they enter into the state limit, said he.
Jakhar also informed that during a campaign launched from June 1 to June 15 last, as many as 25,000 cattles have been sterilised. This year, a similar campaign of one month would be launched from April 1, he added.