With the aim to make cattle rearing economically profitable for farmers and breeders, the Chhattisgarh government will now buy Cow dung from them. In this way, it will also become the first state to do such a thing for the benefit of farmers.
While addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, said that the scheme would be launched on the occasion of a local festival known as ‘Hareli’.
The CM said that the price of cow dung will be fixed in the next 8 days and for that a 5-member ministerial committee has been set up under the chairmanship of Agriculture & Water Resources minister Ravindra Chaubey.
Baghel said, “There has been a tradition of open grazing in Chhattisgarh, which results in crop loss ... Stray cattle in the cities cause road accidents, loss of life & property. Secondly, cows are abandoned after they stop giving milk and thus to make cow rearing a profitable business, the state government has decided to buy cow dung from farmers and cattle owners”.
The urban administration department has been asked to make full arrangements to prevent stray animals roaming in the cities. The department would be responsible for buying cow dung and production of vermicompost.
The CM said, “The purpose of this scheme is to promote cattle rearing in Chhattisgarh and to benefit the cattle owners, who are mostly farmers. Government tried to strengthen the rural economy of the state via ‘Narva, Garuva, Ghuruwa, Badi’ scheme in which we have developed cowsheds in 2,200 villages of the state. In the next 2-3 months, about 5,000 more cowsheds would be developed in the state. This scheme is an incremental step forward”.
The initiative is part of ‘Godhan Nyay Yojana’ that was announced by the Chief Minister at the online press conference on Thursday.
A committee of few IAS officers has also been set up under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary to check and regulate the process of procurement of cow dung.
