Over Rs 1,500 crore spent on cow protection in three years: Rajasthan minister

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Urban Development Minister Shanti Dhariwal on Friday said the state government has spent Rs 1,511.31 crore for the protection of cows in the past over three years.

The funds collected from stamp duty and VAT payable on liquor sale has been spent on the protection of cows, he said.

Replying to a supplementary question of BJP legislator Dharam Narayan Joshi during the question hour in the state Assembly, Dhariwal said as per the rules, funds are sanctioned whenever a demand is raised.

He said during the previous government from 2015-2018, actual expenses against the funds collected were quite less.

Dhariwal in his written reply to the legislator's question told the House that the state government received Rs 1,242.56 crore from 2015-16 to 2020-21 through surcharge on stamp duty.

The government received Rs 1,017.08 crore during 2018-19 to 2020-21 from VAT payable on the sale of liquor.

This way, a total of Rs 2,259.64 crore was collected, he said.

From the revenue collected through surcharge, Rs 1,500.46 crore was spent as assistance to cow shelters, Rs 3.44 crore for cow shelter development work, Rs 20 lakh for cow shelter biogas scheme, Rs 7.20 crore for the Nandishala scheme.

This way, a total of Rs 1,511.31 was spent, he said.