Responsibility of land marking for construction of Gausadans given to District Magistrates
Dehradun. The government has become serious about the protection of more than 17 thousand destitute cows roaming on the streets in Uttarakhand. In this series, cow sheds will be constructed on war footing within the next six months. Also, effective steps will be taken to prevent damage to or cruelty to cattle.
These decisions were taken in the coordination meeting held last Saturday between Panchayati Raj Minister Satpal Maharaj, Urban Development Minister Premchand Aggarwal and Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna. Besides, instructions were also given to the higher officials to appoint one nodal officer each for the works related to cow protection in all the three departments. It was also decided that coordination meetings of the three ministers would be held every month.
The Animal Husbandry Department is responsible for making arrangements for the construction of shelters or cow sheds for the destitute cattle roaming in urban and rural areas, while the responsibility of taking the animals to them lies with the urban and rural bodies.
In order to ensure that the three departments work in mutual coordination for the conservation of cattle, Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna initiated the meeting of the ministers of the three departments. In this sequence, ministers of all three departments held discussions in the auditorium of the Assembly building last Saturday. Also gave necessary directions to the officials.
Panchayati Raj Minister Satpal Maharaj said that it is the priority of the government to protect the cows and provide safe shelter to the destitute cows. Destitute cattle will be marked and kept in cowsheds. Where cow shelters have not been built, they will be constructed soon.
Urban Development Minister Premchand Aggarwal said that it is an important initiative to bring destitute cattle to the cow shelters. He said that the responsibility of marking the land for the construction of Gausadans has been given to the District Magistrates. Also, District Magistrates have been expected to allocate funds from other heads for the protection of cows.
He also urged the MLAs to cooperate with the MLA Fund in the construction of Gausadans. He also stressed that veterinarians should keep monitoring the cattle in the cow sheds for their care.
Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna said that Uttarakhand is the first state in the country, which has taken the initiative to provide protection to destitute cattle. All departments will do this work in mutual coordination. He said that the steps taken for the protection of cows will be reviewed in the coordination meetings of the ministers of the three departments held every month. Secretary Animal Husbandry Dr. BVRC Purushottam and other officials were also present in the meeting.
