Bill to protect agricultural animals passed in VS

Raipur, December 22, 2011

The government’s ambitious bill to protect agricultural animals was unanimously passed in Vidhan Sabha on Thursday. The members of both ruling and opposition parties hailed Chhattisgarh Krishik Pashu Parirakshan (Amendment) Bill when Agriculture Minister Chandrashekhar Sahu tabled it in the House. However, the opposition felt that the ambit of the bill could have been expanded by incorporating significant points like prevention of cow slaughter, animal sacrifice on the name of tradition, opening of gaushalas, etc.

Mahant demands cow reserve to protect agriculture animals

While speaking during debate on bill, the Congress legislator Mahant Ramsundar Das demanded cow reserve to protect agricultural animals. “If there can be elephant and tiger reserves, why not to make cow reserves,” he suggested.

He said the government was making difference between animal and human killers. “The law and punishment for both type of killers should be same,” he said terming merely by extending imprisonment term of animal killers from three years to four years and increasing the fine amount from Rs 10000 to Rs 50000 would not be enough.

He said if government would seize vehicles carrying animals illegally to slaughterhouses then action should also be taken against the vehicle owners.

Das advocated for opening of at least one government gaushala in every district headquarters to increase cow population.

Bhardwaj raises animal sacrifice tradition

Another Congress member Dr Haridas Bhardwaj felt that besides making provisions for animal security, the government should take measures to check rising slaughtering of animals. He prominently pointed towards the cult of animal sacrifice in Ma Chandrahasni Devi temple in Chandrapur and urged the government to stop it. Pointing that the tradition of animal sacrifice was overtly followed by government’s own legislator Yuddhaveer Singh Judeo every year in Ma Chandrahasni Devi temple, Bhardwaj asked whether the government would dare to take punitive action against Judeo.

He further felt that the protection of agricultural animals would help government generating bio-fertilisers which increase soil fertility.

In his reply, the Agriculture Minister Chandrashekhar Sahu assured the House that government would take every measure to protect agricultural animals and action would also be taken against the owners of those vehicles which would be caught carrying animals illegally.

He informed the House that there were 63 registered gaushalas in the state having the total of 15000 cows. 

 During debate on the bill, Congress legislator Mahant Ramsundar Das waved a letter which questioned legality of Chhattisgarh Gaushala Commission (CGC). Das informed the House that the letter was written on August 2, 2011 and it carried signature of the officer on special duty (OSD). The minister rubbished the letter terming it false and claimed that the CGC was a legal body, Devji Patel, who was on Chair, interrupted the minister and asked him to conduct probe into the matter terming it a serious allegation against the government.