New Haryana excise policy imposes ₹5 cow cess on each liquor bottle sold

The new excise policy was approved in the cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday evening

The new excise policy approved by the Haryana cabinet has introduced a ₹5 “cow cess” per liquor bottle to generate funds for the welfare of cows in the state.

Senior officials said the revenue generated will be utilised for environment protection and animal welfare (gau seva) and several infrastructure and projects have been planned for the welfare of cows. (Image for representation)

Senior officials said the revenue generated will be utilised for environment protection and animal welfare (gau seva) and several infrastructure and projects have been planned for the welfare of cows.

The new excise policy was approved in the cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday evening.

According to the new policy, a retail permit fee will be imposed on liquor sale and the fee will be collected by liquor vends through the sale of bottles. Officials said they are targeting to collect ₹400 crore in cow cess this fiscal.

Puran Yadav, vice-chairman of Haryana Gau Seva Aayog, said the funds will be utilised to build cow shelters on panchayat lands. “Currently, there are 650 cow shelters across the state, including 23 in Gurugram that house around 500,000 stray cattle. We are aiming to double the capacity so that cattle recovered in rescue operations, carried out throughout the year, can be accommodated. We will link gaushalas to the GOBARdhan scheme under which biogas plants will be constructed in every district,” he said.

Yadav said the aim is to ensure that within six months, there are no more stray cattle on the roads. “We want better medical facilities and good quality fodder for the cattle. We have plans to make all cow shelters and cow vans equipped with the latest facility and will employee more sevaks to take care of the bovines,” he said.

The ayog also has major expansion plans to enhance the production of natural paint from cow dung. There are two paint plants in Faridabad and Gurugram and government has plans to set up 10 more across the state.

Yadav said they will engage women’s self- help groups in making paint and vermi compost from cow dung, and this will boost employment opportunities at district level. “The ₹400 crore was decided after factoring in all the infrastructure cost and holding several meetings with the chief minister,” he said.

Jawahar Yadav, officer on special duty (OSD) to Haryana chief minister, said that protection of cows has been a high priority for the government with a 300-strong police force constituted for the same under an IPS-level officer. “We have plans to build veterinary hospitals in every district. We have plans for bio-gas and solar energy plants in all cow shelters apart from organic manure and paint plants,” he said.