MP: Self-reliant cow shelters yet to take off as mismanagement claims grow

As per the census, the number of stray cattle which include calves, cows and bulls stood at 853971 in 2019, thus 95% increase as compared to that of 2012 census

The concept of creating “Atmnirbhar Gaushalas” (self-reliant cow shelters) by converting waste into wealth in the shelters across Madhya Pradesh was envisaged four years ago but is yet to become a reality.

The project is yet to take off despite the BJP government having allocated ₹250 crore annually for building and running cow shelters across the state (HT Photo)

The project is yet to take off despite the BJP government having allocated ₹250 crore annually for building and running cow shelters across the state and strengthening laws to confiscate vehicles, allegedly used to transport cows to slaughterhouses.

The Mohan Yadav government increased the allocation for the shelters from ₹90 crore allocated for 2023-24 to ₹250 crore annually in its annual budget passed in the state assembly on July 3.

Also, the state government’s “Govansh Vadh Pratishedh Adhiniyam”, 2004, has been made more stringent with an amendment to give more powers to collectors for confiscating vehicles.

The amendment effected in the Act reads, “…Therefore, to bring an amendment in sub-section (5) of section 11 of the Madhya Pradesh Govansh Vadh Pratishedh Adhiniyam, 2004 a provision is proposed that no order of confiscation shall be made under this section unless the collector issues an intimation in the prescribed format regarding the initiation of proceeding for confiscation of the seized conveyance, cow progeny and beef.”

The government grant per cow for fodder has been doubled from ₹20 per cow per month to ₹40 per cow per month.

The state has 2,190 cow shelters with more than three lakh cows and calves in them; 627 of these are being run by NGOs and the rest by village panchayats, as per the state’s Gau Samvardhan Board.

According to the 20th Livestock Census conducted by the central government in 2019, the cattle population in Madhya Pradesh was 18.7 million with a decline of 4.42% in comparison to the 2012 census whereas the buffalo population increased by 25.88% from 8.2 million in 2012 to 10.3 million in 2019.

As per the census, the number of stray cattle which include calves, cows and bulls stood at 853971 in 2019, thus a 95% increase as compared to that of the 2012 census.

In the run-up to the 2018 state assembly elections, Congress had promised a cow shelter in every panchayat. The state government announced in October 2019, that it would build at least 3000 shelters in a year to ensure all the stray and abandoned cows are accommodated in these cowsheds under the Mukhyamantri Gauseva Yojana. This was to ensure an effective check on stray cattle-related road accidents too.

Swami Akhileshwaranand, former chairman of the Gau Samvardhan Board said shelters run by panchayats needed to be immediately closed.

“This is a sheer waste of money. These gaushalas need to be freed from the clutches of the sarpanch of panchayats. They are doing nothing. The government needs to look into the utilisation of the funds meant for panchayat-run gaushalas, he said.

“I have given a suggestion that instead of these panchayat-run gaushalas, cow sanctuaries be set up near jungles. We have identified 21 such places where there is no danger to cows from wild animals and they have forest areas to be used as pastures.”

A government official, who asked not to be named, said: “Besides gaushalas the state government needs to revive Gau-Sadans; more than 10 in number across the state lying in dilapidated condition, each of which can accommodate more than 10000 cows. We need more sanctuaries.”

The official added: “The Atmanirbhar Gaushala project envisaged in 2020 was to ensure a good income by the Gaushalas by selling organic fertiliser, Gomutra, insecticide, milk and milk products, cow dung and pooja articles made with cow dung and even bones and cowhide etc. But so far except a few gaushalas which have good donors on their list, none in the state can be called Atmanirbhar. The fact is that the government is yet to create infrastructure in these gaushalas to enable them to make different products for sale.”

In the absence of the infrastructure and sufficient funds, the committees running the centres have adopted different methods to seek donations from people including appealing to them on birthdays and anniversaries of parents.

Arvind Rathore, who runs the Shri Ganga Gaushala at Gangajal Khedi village in Depalpur tehsil of Indore district, said: “The Government’s decision to increase the budget is a welcome step but it’s still insufficient. A trolley of fodder costs ₹1700, and at least four trolleys of fodder are required for one cow in a year. Besides, we have to provide jaggery, food grains, salt etc to cows. These expenses are in addition to the cost of vaccination, treatment etc. We have 206 cows, mostly abandoned by people. We spent ₹8 lakh last year and received ₹2 lakh in grants from the government.”

Rathore added: “We have several methods and occasions to seek donations. We are a team of 25-30 volunteers. These days people need waiters on occasions like marriages or religious programmes. We serve food at gatherings and thus, whatever earnings we have, we donate it to the gaushala.”

Kanhaiya Lal, a cow shelter owner, agreed. “Our gaushala needs at least ₹50 lakh for a proper infrastructure for making various products and accommodating more cows. I have a team of about 20 friends. Each of us donates from our pockets and pursues others too to do the same. An increase in grants by the government is a relief but not everything that can make the gaushala self-reliant.”

Retired deputy director from MP State Livestock and Poultry Development Corporation Dr KS Tomar feels the government’s entire approach is misdirected.

“An increase in budget will hardly resolve the problem of stray cattle, most of which have been abandoned by owners, as they have stopped giving milk or (giving) little milk. We need proper breed improvement at a large scale so that the farmers have much more milk from cows and, thus, they will never discard the cows as in the case of buffalos,” Tomar said.

Corruption

Corruption and ill-treatment of cows are problems affecting the proper management of cow shelters, officials said.

In the first week of July, Kaushlendra Vikram Singh, who is the Bhopal collector, visited a shelter at village Manikhedi Gunga only to find most of the cows missing. The people running the place said the cows had been let out for routine grazing; a day later, during a second inspection, most of the animals could not be traced.

During an inspection of six officially designated cow shelters in Ashok Nagar in May this year, it was revealed that it was neither a shelter nor was the space used for storing fodder – More than ₹1.74 crore, however, had been given to the owners as part of the budget for the welfare of cows.

Another official from the department said: “There are regular reports regarding the death of cows from various shelters either due to want of fodder or treatment.”

Carcasses of over 100 cows were found at a shelter on the outskirts of the state capital Bhopal last year. Later, it was found that the municipal corporation had sent more than 2500 cows to the shelter in the year 2022 and the total number of cows was supposed to be more than 4000. During an inspection in January last year, only 2000 cows were found.

As far as smuggling of the animal to other states for slaughter is concerned, police have lodged 575 FIRs regarding illegal transportation, arresting over 1121 suspects and rescuing 7524 cows in the past six months. Also, 342 vehicles used in the crime were seized, as per official stats from police headquarters.

The areas most affected by the illegal transportation of cows and calves include the border areas in the south and west of the state including Balaghat, Seoni, Chhindwara, Barwani, Kharone, Burhanpur, Ujjain, Ratlam and Neemuch.

An official from the animal husbandry department, who asked not to be named, said: “There may have been some curb on smuggling of cows but until and unless the nexus between cattle mafia and those in the government machinery is broken, effective control on such smuggling will continue to remain wishful thinking.”

Rathore, quoted earlier, claimed they often witnessed illegal transportation of cows but, he said: “Problem is if we report the incidents to the police nothing will happen to those smuggling cows but we will certainly face music from police for obvious reasons.”

Lakhan Patel, Animal Husbandry minister (independent charge), said: “The budget increase and law amended to check illegal transportation of cows will certainly lead to a positive change in the entire scenario. Due to the Lok Sabha election and model code of conduct, we had just a few months to work on the plans and projects but the government is taking a number of measures to protect cows.”

The minister added: “As far as the reports regarding irregularities in gaushalas are concerned, we are mulling the introduction of a chip which will give all the information about entry and exit of cows from gaushalas. We are also considering imposing heavy penalties on those who own cows and later discard them.”