On August 15, as the country will celebrate its 71st Independence Day, the northern state of Haryana would become stray cattle-free.
That is the target that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has set and work to rehabilitate abandoned cattle is already on in a mission mode.
At a meeting here, Khattar said the tagging of 89.3 per cent of cattle in 'gaushalas' and 'nandishalas' (shelters for bovine animals) has been completed and Haryana would be made stray cattle-free by August 15, 2017.
The work to rehabilitate abandoned cattle is being undertaken in a mission mode and 27,000 animals have already been accommodated in gaushalas, he said.
A community-driven model has been adopted and the state's 22 districts have been divided into two phases of 11 districts each, he said.
The districts of Nuh, Yamunanagar and Fatehabad have already been declared stray cattle-free, he said.
Unique Identification Numbers are being assigned to each animal during tagging and cow shelter managements and veterinarians are being encouraged to maintain computerised records of these animals, he said.
Khattar also directed officials to impose fines on people who abandon cattle after the animals become unproductive.
He emphasised on the need to make 'gaushalas' and 'nandishalas' self-sustaining and gradually reducing the number of such facilities by encouraging the people not to abandon cows.
He directed officials to generate income in cow-shelters through the sale of cattle by-products and educate people about methods to generate income from cows even after they don't yield milk.
He said that upkeep of cattle and marketing of their by-products should be done through co-operative societies.
He sought coordinated efforts for protection and conservation of cows through the Animal Welfare Board and district-level offices of Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
He also directed officials to prepare a proposal for establishment of plant for processing of cattle by-products in the state.
The issue was discussed in a session that the chief minister had with his good governance associates and administrative secretaries here.
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