The Manohar lal Khattar Government in Haryana, which has been doing everything to pamper the bovine species, has now proposed to set up “cow hostels” in urban areas of the State.
The “cow hostels” is proposed to be set up in major cities of Haryana to give an opportunity to urban citizens to keep a cow or a buffalo to get pure milk.
While the cow shelters are called “gaushalas” in rural areas, a different term “cow hostels” will be used in urban areas in reference to modern life of cities besides making such facilities more appealing to ensure youth’s participation in such initiatives.
Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in 2011 launched the idea of “cow hostels” when he was Gujarat Chief Minister.
The idea was that such hostels would serve as a place where cattle of the entire village could be looked after well. A “cow hostel” was first established in village Akodara of Sabarkantha district in Gujarat to keep the milch cattle of entire village.
If all goes well, “cow hostels” will now be established in urban areas of Haryana. It has been proposed to set up such cow shelters in 4-5 acre land in Panchkula, Gurugram, Faridabad and other major cities of Haryana.
“We have prepared a proposal to set up “cow hostels” in urban areas of Haryana. We have written to urban local bodies in this regard and a meeting with concerned Minister will also be held soon to finalize the plan,” said said Bhani Ram Mangla, chairman of Haryana Gau Sewa Aayog while talking to The Pioneer.
He said the Aayog had received a large number of requests from the people living in major cities to allow them to keep milch cattle for getting pure milk.
Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) does not given permission to keep bovine species on their land. Hence, we have asked municipal bodies to provide land to set up “cow hostels” in urban areas of Haryana, said he.
Elaborating on the proposal, Mangla said that a large number of such requests have been received from Panchkula, Gurugram, Faridabad and other cities. Accordingly, we have planned to set up “cow hostels” in such cities. Subsidy for the purchase of desi (indigenous) cows would also be offered by us,” he said.
For maintenance of these facilities, committees involving citizens will be constituted. While the land would be provided by municipal bodies for construction of “cow hostels”, maintenance cost and other works would be undertaken by these committees. These committees would include owners of cows to be kept at such facilities, NGOs among others, he added.
Notably, there are more than three lakh cattle in around 437 gaushalas in the state. Recently, the government had announced to provide a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to gram panchayats for construction of cow shelters (gau grehs) in villages to rehabilitate the abandoned cattle.
Known for its love for the cow, the BJP led State Government has also planned to construct 40 cow sanctuaries in a phased manner to accommodate more than one lakh stray cattle in Haryana.
Among various initiatives of State Government for cow protection includes issuing identity cards to gau rakshaks, appointing a senior IPS officer to monitor cases of cow smuggling in the state and banning consumption of beef.
Haryana Government had in 2015 enforced Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gau Samvardhan Act 2015 making cow slaughter punishable with rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
The state has 18.08 lakh cattle. Out of total cattle population, 8.12 lakh are indigenous cattle and 9.96 lakh are exotic/cross bredcattle, as per the 2012 livestock census.