Around eight years after bringing the law to ban beef in the state, the Maharashtra cabinet cleared a set of new proposals to establish a cow service commission in order to strictly enforce the 2015 law banning beef and related measures with respect to the betterment of livestock.
The Cabinet took the decision on March 17 and formed a commission named the 'Maharashtra Gau Seva Aayog' (Maharashtra Commission for Cow Service) that will supervise the rearing of livestock.
News agency PTI cited an official from the animal husbandry department as saying that the Commission will also evaluate which of the livestock are unproductive and rendered unfit for milking, breeding, and carrying agricultural works, etc.
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As per PTI, another senior official in the government said, “The cow commission has also been mandated to take up the cultivation of improved breeds of cattle with the help of gaushalas and launch research schemes to increase local varieties.”
The Eknath Shinde-BJP government formed the cow service commission after similar bodies were established in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh where the BJP is in power.
The Cabinet has already approved funds of Rs 10 crore in order to set up the commission and the draft of a bill to ensure its formation as a statutory institution will be submitted to the Maharashtra state legislature this week.
As per PTI, a senior official said the state government has reached an estimate that indicates an increase in livestock population following the beef ban.
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The official said, "The commission is expected to coordinate with various government agencies to stop non-productive cattle from going to slaughterhouses, which is now illegal under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Animal Act, 1995, passed in March 2015," reported PTI.
He further said, the commission will keep an eye on all the Gaushalas (Cowsheds) in the state that were set up to provide shelter to unproductive cattle. He also added that the commission will also have the power to give financial support wherever it is absolutely necessary.
The official, as reported by PTI, stated that the commission will implement all the existing rules related to Gaushala and also introduce new schemes and programs to ensure the betterment of the livestock.
“It is expected to take up schemes for generating biogas and power from cow dung and their urine and coordinating with universities and other research institutes that are working in the field of cattle and cattle development among others,” the official informed, as quoted by PTI.
Meanwhile, the commission will be a 24-member institution and the state government will nominate the chairman of the body.
As per PTI, another senior official who did not want to be named said, “It comprises 14 senior officers from various government departments including commissioners from animal husbandry, agriculture, transport, and dairy development departments, a deputy inspector general of police, and nine nominated members who are associated with either cow protection organisations or NGOs involved in running gaushalas.”