Bengal offers goats to chicken farmers

The West Bengal government wants to distribute goats and lambs to nearly eight lakh distressed backyard poultry farmers to overcome losses sustained in the recent bird flu epidemic and subsequent poultry culling in the state, and tide over the 90-day ban on rearing chickens.

However, this idea was at the mercy of the Central government, as the state did not have resources to fully roll out the scheme, said Anisur Rahman, animal husbandry minister of West Bengal.

The total expense on the scheme would be close to Rs 115 crore. "As there will not be any fresh poultry farming in the notified areas for the next three months, we want to give poultry farmers goats and lambs to support themselves", he said.

"We have suggested the Centre to share 50 per cent of the expense involved in the scheme. Earlier, we had projected Rs 75 crore as expense for distributing goats and lambs, but now the figures have gone up at about Rs 115 crore", he added.

"It is not possible for the state alone to bear the expense of this sort. The Centre is examining the project," he claimed.

The terms and conditions of the scheme were yet to be decided. The state would also dole out Rs 10 each to members of self help groups (SHGs) and people below poverty line (BPL) to start fresh poultry farming in the state after three months, when the ban on chicken rearing would be lifted, Rahman said.

The state had already sanctioned Rs 35 crore for the scheme, without depending on the Central government aid, he added.

The state wanted the Centre to share half the expense involved in the scheme.

"We have asked the Centre to share 50 per cent share of the Rs 35 crore needed to support the SHGs and BPL people involved the poultry business. Without depending on them, we have already sanctioned Rs 35 crore for the purpose," the minister said.

Another demand of the state, to bear 50 per cent expense in giving Rs 500 to each bird flu affected families in the state, was yet to be accepted by the Centre, the minister complained.