After Haryana and UP, Maharashtra forms commission for protection of cows | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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After Haryana and UP, Maharashtra forms commission for protection of cows

Mar 20, 2023 12:49 AM IST

The commission named ‘Maharashtra Gau Seva Aayog’ (Maharashtra commission for Cow Services), will supervise rearing of livestock and assess which of them are unproductive and rendered unfit for milching, breeding, carrying agricultural works etc. The state government believes that the population of livestock will go up owing to beef ban

Mumbai: Eight years after bringing a law to ban beef, the Shinde-Fadnavis government has decided to constitute a commission for its strict implementation to protect cows and their progeny in the state.

Ranchi, India - Jan. 23, 2019: :Cows at Goshala ( cow shelter) on Harmu road in Ranchi, India, on Wednesday, January 23, 2019. (Photo by Diwakar Prasad/ Hindustan Times ) (Diwakar Prasad/ Hindustan Times)
Ranchi, India - Jan. 23, 2019: :Cows at Goshala ( cow shelter) on Harmu road in Ranchi, India, on Wednesday, January 23, 2019. (Photo by Diwakar Prasad/ Hindustan Times ) (Diwakar Prasad/ Hindustan Times)

The commission named ‘Maharashtra Gau Seva Aayog’ (Maharashtra commission for Cow Services), will supervise rearing of livestock and assess which of them are unproductive and rendered unfit for milching, breeding, carrying agricultural works etc. The state government believes that the population of livestock will go up owing to beef ban.

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According to the state cabinet decision taken on Friday, the commissionwill coordinate with various government agencies to stop non-productive cattle from going to the slaughter houses which is illegal under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Animal Act, 1995 passed in March 2015. Also, the commission will monitor all the gaushalas (cowsheds) formed to shelter stray and unproductive cattle and has the power to provide them financial assistance wherever required, said a senior official from state animal husbandry department said.

The commission has been formed on the lines of panels formed by other BJP-ruled states such as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. It would be a 24-member body headed by chairman, who will be nominated by the state government.

It comprises 14 senior officers from various government departments including commissioners from animal husbandry, agriculture, transport, dairy development departments, deputy inspector general of police and nine nominated members, who are associated with either the “cow protection” organisations or NGOs involved in running gaushalas (cowsheds), said another senior official.

“It will run all the existing schemes for gaushalas in the state and can take up new schemes as well. The commission has further been mandated to take up the cultivation of improved breeds of cattle with the help of gaushalas, start research schemes to increase local varieties, take up schemes for generating biogas and power from cow dung and their urine and coordinating with universities and other research institutes that are working in the field of cattle and cattle development among others,” the officer said.

The state cabinet has approved funds of 10 crore for setting up of the commission and a draft bill for its formation as a statutory body is likely to be placed before the state legislature this week.

The proposal for constituting the commission was first mooted in 2018 during the previous Fadnavis led government but it did not get to see the light of the day after a few objections raised by the state finance department.

Maharashtra Congress objected the move and stressed on bringing a scheme on the lines of Chhattisgarh government to do away with the problem of unproductive cattle. State Congress chief Nana Patole said, “ The farmers have stopped abandoning their non-productive cattle after the Chhattisgarh government started buying cow dung and urine directly from them. The scheme also provides direct benefit to the farmers instead of a group of people that are going to be benefited in the name of cow protection organisations or cowshed,” Patole told Hindustan Times.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Faisal is with the political team and covers state administration and state politics. He also covers NCP.

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