By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 4 May: Chief Secretary Dr SS Sandhu chaired a meeting held at the Secretariat here today on making shelters for destitute cows across the state. In the meeting, the Chief Secretary instructed the District Magistrates to earmark land for the construction of Gaushalas for the destitute cows and their progeny in the cities.
Sandhu stressed that the entire state should be benefited through the scheme. He especially instructed to keep the roaming cows in the Gaushalas in the cities on the Char Dham Yatra route. He directed that the Urban Development Department, Municipal Corporations and the municipal councils as well as the Animal Husbandry Department take care of their respective responsibilities in this regard with utmost sincerity.
The Chief Secretary said that the operation of Gaushalas should be managed with the help of the NGOs. He said that arrangement for hydraulic vehicles should be made in all municipal bodies to lift the animals. This, he said would save animals from getting injured while lifting. He added that all District Magistrates, Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats should start searching for suitable land along with NGOs for this work.
The Chief Secretary said that the authority to give land on lease for Gaushalas will be vested in the District Magistrates. The District Magistrate will be able to take decisions for the expansion of old Gaushalas and construction of new Gaushalas. The District Magistrate will also ensure that all Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats are fully covered. He said that bio-gas schemes should also be started in such places.
Present on this occasion were Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan, Secretaries Nitesh Jha, Dr BVRC Purushottam and Additional Secretary, Urban Development, Navneet Pandey along with other senior officials and all the District Magistrates over video conferencing.
