Ban on slaughter of old, sick animals would adversely affect farmers who can't rear them
To douse the fire against the proposed law seeking a complete ban on cow and bullock slaughter in the state, the Devendra Fadnavis government has decided to open gaushalas (cowsheds) across state to take care of old, sick and unproductive cows which usually head for slaughter houses.
The move aims to give relief to farmers who are forced to sell their unproductive or sick animals for slaughter. A ban on slaughter would adversely affect farmers as they would be forced to rear such animals.
The government has chalked out a 'gau-gram yojna' (cow-village scheme) under which all districts would be asked to establish at least one gaushala in every 10-12 villages. "The government plans to propose Rs90 crore for the scheme in
the 2015-16 budget, which would be launched in Kokan, Marathwada and Khandesh regions in the first phase. We would buy cows of those farmers who can't afford to rear them," said Eknath Khadse, minister of agriculture and animal husbandry.
The price of a cow to be offered to farmers and other nuances of the scheme are yet to be finalised.
As for beef eaters, Khadse suggests other options. "They can eat buffalo and goat meat, chicken and other options which are available easily," said Khadse, adding that the new bill doesn't ban slaughter of buffaloes.
Khadse also rejected the suggestion that the bill is anti-Dalit or anti-Muslim. He clarified that "no one" can eat or sell beef in "any form" in the state and this includes household to five star hotels.
Trashing down oppositions allegations that the BJP-Sena government is pursuing the RSS agenda, Khadse claimed, "I don't need to react on such allegations as they are baseless. Rajasthan implemented the cow-slaughter ban under the Congress regime."
The Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill 1995 which has recently got the president's assent and now is pending for the Maharashtra governor's nod to become an Act, bans the slaughter of cow, progeny-cows, bulls and bullocks in the state. This bill also proposes a complete ban in the sale, possession, transport, export and import of beef. This envisages that anyone found selling beef or being in possession of it can be jailed up to five years and fined up to Rs10,000.
There is a lot of confusion over the provisions of the bill as the copy of it is still unavailable. Ministry officials said that "it may take at least a few days to finalise it after consulting the law and judiciary department".
The bill, which received the assent of the president on Tuesday, created a furore among red meat lovers in the social media.
Interestingly, cow slaughter is already banned in the state under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act (MAPA) of 1976. However, it allows killing of cows, including the calves, after acquiring the 'Fit for Slaughter' certificate from civic authorities. "The new Act is just an extended prohibition which also covers the possession, transport, export and import of the beef along with the slaughter," said an official in animal husbandry department.
Eateries also reject the apprehensions of the beef lovers. "Many restaurants which claim to serve beef actually serve buffalo meat (carabeef) which is cheaper and of inferior quality. It is very hard to differentiate between the two for a consumer," said a restaurant owner.
The ban has led to sharp reactions from people, celebs and activists. Writer Shobha De has lashed out on Twitter and dared the Fadnavis government to arrest her. Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Tushar Gandhi has termed the ban as "anti-Muslim, anti-Christian and anti-Dalit."
Celebrities are free to protest: Khadse
Reacting sharply to comments of writer Shobha De and other celebs who took to twitter to lash out against the government move, Eknath Khadse, minister of agriculture and animal husbandry, said: "She is free to protest (against us), so as other celebrities. And as a government, we have rights to make laws."
History of the Bill
The bill was originally passed in 1995 by the BJP-Shiv Sena government. The bill was first submitted to the president for approval January 30, 1996. Thereafter, it was sent to state many times for changes and clarifications of the effects of the implementation of the bill on agriculture. The BJP-Shiv Sena government, after taking over in October last year, approved the file related to approval of the bill. It was then submitted to the ministry of home affairs on November 13 last year.
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