Chandigarh, March 13– Six veterinary polyclinics would be set up in Haryana so that the cattle in the Gaushalas are cared and protected. A polyclinic will also be set up at Charkhi Dadri.
This was stated by the Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal while addressing the gathering at the closing ceremony of the Haryana Livestock Exhibition-2023 held today at Charkhi Dadri.
“In our culture cows hold religious significance. Cow has been given the status of the mother in religious texts, thus from increasing the budget of Haryana Gau Seva Aayog from Rs. 40 crore to Rs. 400 crore in 2023-24, dedicated efforts are being made by the present State Government for the protection of cattle,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.
Earlier, the Chief Minister also visited the Livestock Exhibition. Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Animal Husbandry Minister, Sh. J.P Dalal and BJP State President, Sh. Om Prakash Dhankhar were present on the occasion.
Rs. 2000 crore has been kept reserved for Antyodaya families
The Chief Minister informed that under Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana, loans have been provided to such families who have shown interest in adopting animal husbandry. He said that under this scheme, this year, the Government aims to increase the income of about 2 lakh Antyodaya families.
A separate budgetary allocation of Rs. 2000 crore has been kept reserved for these families if they wish to do any work related to animal husbandry or any other sector or field, said Sh. Manohar Lal.
Sanjhi Dairy scheme to provide the facility for landless cattle owners
The Chief Minister informed that a new project Sanjhi Dairy has been envisaged in the budget for the year 2023-24. Under this project, a shed will be built on the land of the Panchayat, in which cattle owners, who do not have enough space to keep their animals, can keep them in this common shed. This work will be done by the Cooperative Department. The scheme will be implemented from April 1, 2023, informed Sh. Manohar Lal.
Strict laws enacted for the protection of cows
The Chief Minister said that strict laws have been enacted by the state government for the protection of cows. Under this, rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years, and a heavy penalty will be imposed if anyone is found involved in a heinous crime like cow slaughtering.
He also called upon the Panchayats or other institutions to come forward in taking care of destitute cows by making cow shelters. If required they will also be given grants by the Government, said Sh. Manohar Lal.
Highlighting the benefits of drinking A2 Cow Milk, the Chief Minister said that this milk is a rich source of minerals and is believed to prevent many chronic diseases. He said that efforts should be made for increasing the production and consumption of this variety of milk.
“Along with traditional farming, livestock owners and farmers should also adopt other commercial activities like beekeeping, fisheries, floriculture, and setting up small-scale industries of food processing. Government is ready to extend all the required support to them,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.
Speaking on the occasion, Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Animal Husbandry Minister, Sh. J.P. Dalal said that the purpose of organizing such Melas is to inform the farmers and cattle rearers about new techniques so that their income can be boosted by increasing milk production by using these techniques.
He said that Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi firmly believes that villages should develop, farmers' income should increase and farmers and cattle rearers should be economically prosperous. The Haryana government is working in this direction, said Sh. J.P Dalal. He further urged the farmers to adopt natural farming.
Sh. J.P Dalal also expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for increasing the budget of Gau Seva Aayog by ten fold. He said that the Gau Seva Aayog has the policy to make a Gau Van in 22 districts, where arrangements will be made to keep these animals. Haryana is the only state where insurance of more than 8 lakh cattle has been done, said the Minister.
Sh. J.P. Dalal said that according to the policies of the Government of India, a call center would be set up in the state, where cattle rearers would be able to call and put a demand for an ambulance. Immediately after that, the nearest ambulance will go to the cattle rearer's house. In the first phase, 70 such ambulances will be arranged. Later 200 ambulances will be deployed, said Sh. J.P Dalal.
Earlier speaking on the occasion, State BJP President, Sh. O.P Dhankar called upon the livestock owners of the state to take a pledge to take Haryana at par with Israel in terms of milk production.
MLA, Sh. Sombir Sangwan, Sh. Ghanshyam Saraf, Chairman, Gau Seva Aayog, Sh. Sarvan Garg, Commissioner and Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department, Sh. Amneet P Kumar, Deputy Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. K. Makarand Pandurang and a large number of cattle rearers also remained present on this occasion.