UP govt to pay Rs 30 a day to tend stray cattle

In a bid to deal with the menace of stray cattle in Uttar Pradesh, the state government on Tuesday approved a scheme of paying Rs 30 a day to a farmer for tending an ownerless bovine.

The scheme, "Nirashrit/Besahara Govansh Sahbhagita scheme (stray cattle scheme)" was cleared by the state Cabinet in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, said UP government spokesman Shrikant Sharma.

The government has decided to spend nearly Rs 110 crore in the first phase of the scheme, he added.

Under the first phase of the scheme, one lakh stray cattle including cows will be handed over to farmers and others who want to keep them and they would be given Rs 30 per day for taking care of them, said Sharma, also the state energy minister.

The money will be directly credited to bank accounts of those who tend stray animals, he said, adding the payments will be made every third month.

"The payments will be made later on a monthly basis," he added.

He said in each district, a committee of the district magistrate and the chief veterinary officer will be given the task to ensure that those who keep these animals did not leave them on roads and take care of them.

The state has 205.66 lakh cattle population as per the 2012 animal census, he said.