BHOPAL: BJP veteran and former chief minister Babulal Gaur drew the attention of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to reported “moves” about handing over country’s first cow sanctuary in Agar-Malwa district to corporate houses. He said the government should release increased subsidy to cow shelters to save a sacred animal.

BJP veteran and former chief minister Babulal Gaur alleged there were reports of handing over country’s first cow sanctuary in Agar-Malwa district to corporate houses. In a letter to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, he said the government should release increased subsidy to cow shelters to save a sacred animal.

“Cow protection is among BJP’s priority issues and as per the reports, the government is contemplating to hand over the state’s first cow sanctuary to corporate houses. If this is true, then it’s very unfortunate. The cow sanctuary was inaugurated by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and reflects government’s commitment to cow protection,” Gaur told TOI.

In the letter, he has also demanded the CM to raise subsidy to cow shelters (gaushala) from Rs 10 per animal to Rs 17 as announced in the state assembly. He said during assembly session, the government had assured that cow shelters would be paid the increased subsidy with immediate effect. However, it was yet to be released, he said.

The country’s first cow sanctuary, set up by the government, was inaugurated on September 27 last year in Agar-Malwa district. The sanctuary, also called ‘Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya’ was developed by MP Gau Samvardhan Board in Salaria village, nearly 50 km from the district headquarters.

Spread over 472 hectares, the sanctuary has the capacity to house 6,000 cows. It was built at a cost of Rs 32 crore. The Samvarddhan Board runs over 600 registered gaushalas in the state in which over 1.4 lakh bovines are reared.

The state government recently stopped accepting any more cattle because of paucity of funds and manpower. Sanctuary head Swami Akhileshwaranad Giri had stated he had initially demanded Rs 56 crore to run the facility, but the budget barely touched Rs 25 crore.

The revised budget estimates prepared by them were also rejected by the state’s finance ministry, he said. The board chairman had recommended setting up of a separate ministry for cows.

