UP: Yogi govt to levy ‘Gau Kalyan’ cess to build shelters

LUCKNOW: In a bid to raise funds to build and maintain temporary cowsheds, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to impose a 0.5% ‘Gau Kalyan cess’ (cow welfare cess).

As per a government spokesman, the ‘Gauvansh Ashray Asthals’ (temporary cow sheds) will be constructed through MNREGS funds and will be opened in all villages, panchayats, Nagar panchayats, municipalities, municipal corporations and other local bodies.

According to media reports, Uttar Pradesh approved the policy following farmers shifting to mechanized agriculture and abandoning ailing or old cattle amid lynchings by cow vigilantes. The policy will be likely to deal with the incidents related to stray cattle.

According to a data collecting site Factchecker.com, Uttar Pradesh witnessed 69% cow-related violence in 2018.

However, the news of cow welfare cess has drawn severe criticism from Twitter users. Here are some of the reactions:

https://twitter.com/AJIndian3/status/1080318393394155522

https://twitter.com/pankajgeetey/status/1080314271127396353

https://twitter.com/pranav204/status/1080289272060669952