Uddhav govt to dump cow protection scheme initiated by Fadnavis' BJP-Sena regime: Sources

According to the sources, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is likely to scrap the cow protection scheme - Govardhan Govansh Seva Kendra (GGSK) initiated by the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led dispensation. As per the sources, Congress and NCP are against the allocation of funds towards the protection of cows. Moreover, this is being perceived as an anti-BJP move as most gaushala functionaries are allegedly from the RSS. 

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The cow protection scheme

In 2015, the Devendra Fadnavis government had imposed a ban on sale and consumption of beef, making it punishable by a 5-year jail term and a fine of Rs. 10,000. Thereafter, the GGSK scheme was launched in 2017 with an aim to set up permanent shelters in 34 districts for aged and unproductive cattle which the farmer could not afford to look after. This would ensure that such cattle were not abandoned. Moreover, it intended to boost the infrastructure at gaushalas (cowsheds) set up to conserve, protect and develop cattle and progeny. 

The Maharashtra government made a one-time grant of Rs.1 crore to every gaushala in the state barring for Mumbai and its suburbs in 2018-19, the financial year in which the scheme officially commenced. The scheme was expanded to the taluka level with the same budgetary allocation in the next year. This amounted to a grant of approximately Rs. 25 lakh per gaushala costing Rs.34 crore in total.  

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Reversing key decisions of Devendra Fadnavis

Since taking oath as the Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray has been accused by the opposition of reversing key decisions of the previous government. For instance, he ordered an immediate stay on the construction of the Mumbai Metro 3 car shed in Aarey forest. Moreover, the Maharashtra government also scrapped the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, an ambitious irrigation scheme aimed at making 5,000 drought-prone villages free of water scarcity. Recently, the MVA government passed a bill reversing the direct election process for the post of Sarpanch. 

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