Aiming to make the State stray cattle-free by August 15 this year, the Manohar lal Khattar-led Haryana Government has decided to provide a cash incentive of Rs 5 lakh to gram panchayats for construction of cow shelters (gau grehs) in villages to rehabilitate the abandoned cattle.
The gram panchayat which will provide two acres land to the State Government for the construction of village based cow shelters will be given financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh.
The State Government has already constituted village-level committees under the chairmanship of Sarpanch concerned for construction and maintenance of proposed cow shelters. These shelters will be constructed to rehabilitate abandoned cattle in the villages and to ensure that these animals do not stray into cities.
“The gram panchayats which would provide around two acres of land to Haryana Government for the construction of gau grehs, would be given Rs 5 lakh for the construction work. The gau grehs would be developed to rehabilitate abandoned cattle,” said Bhani Ram Mangla, chairman of Haryana Gau Sewa Aayog while talking to The Pioneer.
He said that the government has already imposed a fine of Rs 5100 on those who carelessly leave their cows and buffaloes to graze on the streets. Unclaimed cattle would be kept in the village gau greh and the upkeep of such animals would be done using the money recovered as fine or donations, said he.
Apart from this, Haryana Government has also ordered to remove encroachments on grazing land (gauchar land) in the villages of the state. In many parts of the state, the panchayat grazing land specifically demarcated for the purpose has been encroached upon for construction works.
Giving details, Mangla said, “Under its ambitious project of preservation and conservation of indigenous cattle breeds and for the implementation of other welfare schemes for milch animals, the State Government has decided to use the unutilized demarcated grazing land in Haryana. As per the data received from the government, the state has around 75000 acres of panchayat grazing land specifically demarcated for this purpose.”
He said that around 30 percent of the gauchar land is lying vacant while a large part has been encroached upon for construction of houses and other works.
The State Government has directed to remove encroachments on grazing land in villages. The land would be utilized for cow shelters or for proving fodder to cattle, added he.
Notably, the BJP led State Government has set a target to make Haryana stray cattle-free by August 15 this year. Districts Nuh, Yamunanagar and Fatehabad have already been declared stray cattle-free
Also, the tagging of around 90 percent of the cattle in gaushalas (cow shelters) and nandishalas has been completed in Haryana. A unique identification number is being assigned to each animal during tagging and gaushala managements and veterinarians have been asked to maintain computerized records of these animals.
The State Government has also decided to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to make gaushalas and nandishalas self-sustaining.
There are around 431 gaushalas in the state, for which the Haryana Government had recently released its formulated standard operated procedures (SOPs), which has to be adopted by all gaushalas for respectable upkeep of cattle.