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Karnataka to have gaushalas in every district
“The Cabinet has approved to have gaushalas in every district,” said state minister Basvaraj Bommai. He added ₹15 crore will be earmarked for the shelters and the amount will be increased later
Karnataka on Thursday approved the setting up of gaushalas or cow shelters across the state as per the state’s anti-cattle slaughter law.
“The Cabinet has approved to have gaushalas in every district,” said state minister Basvaraj Bommai. He added ₹15 crore will be earmarked for the shelters and the amount will be increased later.
In February, when the law was passed, Bommai said the government will increase the capacity of its existing 184 cattle shelters from around 50,000 to 200,000. He added more such schemes will be announced in the Budget to ease the burden of taking care of the cattle.
The Karnataka high court is hearing multiple petitions, challenging the law enacted to entirely stop cattle slaughter in a state, where farmers have faced a decline in incomes due to falling prices of produce, floods, and droughts.
The law provides for jail terms of three to five years and fines ranging from ₹50,000- ₹10 lakh.
Between 2015-16 till 2019-20, the government has said that nearly 1.3 million bulls and bullocks were killed for various reasons including meat. The government has argued the cattle population has dropped drastically in the last eight years. Karnataka exported around $2.5 million worth of beef in 2019-20 to UAE, Qatar, and other countries, according to government data. Leather exports from Karnataka accounted for around $8.25 million, HT reported in February.
