Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government is considering levying gauseva kar (cow cess) to raise additional funds for cow welfare activities.
Besides generating sufficient funds, the cess will ensure people’s participation in the sacred work of cow protection, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Friday. The first meeting of the Gau cabinet (cow cabinet) is scheduled to take place Sunday.
The BJP government on Wednesday became the first state to constitute a ministerial committee on cows, comprising the six cabinet ministers who hold the portfolios of revenue, forest, home, farmers’ welfare, panchayat and rural development, animal husbandry and social justice. The Gau cabinet is tasked with coming out with integrated schemes for cow protection and conservation, and must facilitate quick decision-making.
The CM is the chairman of the cabinet. He also holds the portfolios of general administration, public relations, Narmada Valley Development and aviation among others that are not allocated to ministers.
Pointing out that states such as Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana levy a cess on liquor, vehicle purchase, marriage gardens and hotels, MP’s additional chief secretary (animal husbandry), J.N. Kansotiya told ThePrint that a cow cess was discussed since the state will need money for protection and conservation of the cow. He further added that the ‘tax on tax’ is nominal, ranging from 0.1 per cent to 0.5 per cent. A final decision will be taken by the finance department, he added.
Non-governmental organisations run 627 gaushalas in the state and house 1.66 lakh cows and their progeny. However, there are more than 8.5 lakh stray cattle in the state.
Cow politics
Ever since the BJP wrested power from the Congress in 2003, the cow has been one of the focus areas of the party’s politics. It began with Uma Bharati, who was chief minister for less than a year, and continued with Chouhan who helmed the state from 2005 to 2018.
In that period, the BJP passed a stringent anti-cow slaughter law, set up the country’s first cow sanctuary and accorded a cabinet minister status on Swami Akhileshwaranand Giri, who was the chairman of the executive council of the Madhya Pradesh Gaupalan Evam Pashudhan Samvardhan Board.
The Congress, which ruled the state for15 months till March this year, also made its own contributions on the issue.
The Kamal Nath government came out with ‘Project Gaushala’, an ambitious plan that promised to build thousands of gaushalas. It said during the BJP’s 15-year-rule, not a single gaushala had been built by the state.
The Congress, though, has mooted the cow cess proposal in October 2019. At the time, CM Nath had asked the finance department to examine a proposal on imposing cess on the sale of foreign liquor, new vehicles, non-judicial stamps and entertainment tax.
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