The Madhya Pradesh government will set up 1,000 ‘gaushalas’ or cow shelters in the State in the next four months to accommodate around one lakh stray cows and their progeny, an official said on Wednesday.

Setting up ‘gaushalas’ in every village panchayat was a key promise made by the Congress in its manifesto for the 2018 Assembly elections.

With this announcement, the government expects to not only tackle stray cattle menace but also create 40 lakh man-days employment.

“While reviewing Project Gaushala at the State secretariat on Tuesday, Chief Minister Kamal Nath issued directives to set up 1,000 cow shelters which would accommodate nearly one lakh stray cows and their progeny, in a period of four months,” a State government official said. He added that the Chief Minister wanted the project to take off at the earliest.

“Mr. Nath said ‘Project Gaushala’ would provide relief from stray cattle menace in urban and rural areas. In addition, homeless animals will find shelter. This will also create employment opportunities in rural areas,” the official said.

The Department of Rural Development will be the project’s nodal agency. The project will be implemented by gram panchayats, self-help groups, the institutions empanelled with the State Board for Conservation of Bovine Animals and the organisations selected by the district-level committees, the official said.