Considering fodder scarcity that State-run Goshalas (cow shelters) are facing in Koppal district, Harsh Gupta, district in-charge Secretary, held that encouraging dairy milk societies to grow green fodder on government land could help solve the problem to a great extent.
At a meeting at the district administrative complex here on Wednesday to review drought relief work, Mr. Gupta said that government land, including lake-beds, could be used for growing green fodder.
“At present, the government is running seven goshalas. It is also providing fodder to farmers for their cattle through fodder banks at subsidised rates. We can take initiatives to grow fodder in available government land by providing water and erecting fences around them. We can then involve dairy cooperative societies to maintain and supply fodder from such meadow. Such a transparent system having people’s participation can exist for a long time and provide a lasting solution to fodder crisis,” he said and added that such a system was already in practise in Gujarat.
As per information provided by officers, the district has 2.83 lakh head of cattle in the district and around 4,000 of them are being provided with fodder through goshalas at ₹ 2 a kg. As there is a gap between demand and supply, the government is distributing fodder seeds among farmers free so that they can grow their own fodder on their land.
When the officers told the meeting that they were supplying water through tankers in 17 villages in the district, Mr. Gupta held that identifying local water sources such as private borewells drilled in nearby agricultural fields and supplying water from them to people after convincing the owners of such water sources could be a better option.
MGNREGA
Taking into account monsoon deficiency in the district, Mr. Gupta directed zilla panchayat officials to take up extensive works across the district under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) so that migration from rural areas to big cities could be checked.
“It is the duty of all gram panchayats to provide Form 6 to all workers enrolled under the job scheme and provide them work within 15 days of distributing Form 6. Those taluks that have so far recorded relatively less human days need to work hard to provide work to people in need. The executive officers of the respective taluk panchayats and panchayat development officers of the respective gram panchayats have a greater role to play in this,” he said. The Deputy Secretary of the zilla panchayat told the meeting that the district had achieved 42 lakh person days against a target of 36 lakh person days last year. It has already achieved 14.94 lakh person days against the target of 44 lakh person days in this year, he added. “Considering the drought situation, community works such as dredging rural lakes and tanks have been taken up under MGNREGA. Around 1,500 people are working in such worksites daily,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner P. Sunil Kumar was present.