CHANDIGARH: Shoring up the saffron party's cattle protection programme, Punjab local bodies minister and Amritsar BJP MLA Anil Joshi on Wednesday ratified a landmark decision by municipal councils and corporations to introduce a cow cess on nine items in the state, including purchase of cars and two-wheelers.Approved in 2014, the cess was yet to be implemented in all 154 municipal councils and 10 corporations in the state.On Wednesday, the government asked 33 councils and corporations, barring Amrtisar, to issue a public notification regarding the imposition of cess by May 25.Two corporations -Bathinda and Mohali -have been collecting the cess since 2014. The rest of the municipal bodies have been told to complete the approval process by June 30. Out of the 10 corporations, Amitsar MC is yet to give its consent for this. Punjab local bodies minister Anil Joshi said, “Our aim is to creat more awareness about cattle protection and the menace. This money will be used for welfare and feed purchase for cattle.“He, however, maintained that it was not another fallout of the stringent bills by the BJP-ruled states of Haryana and Maharastra on beef ban.There have been few incidents regarding recovery of cow carcasses as well as emergence of cow vigilante groups in Punjab, including the one in Sangrur on April 16, when police had arrested six people on charges of allegedly slaughtering over 30 stray cows.The decision came barely a month after the BJP had proposed free electricity for gaushalas in Punjab. Faced with a debt of Rs 1.26 lakh crore, the Akali Dal-BJP government already provides a subsidy of Rs 5,600 crore for supplying free electricity to farmers.In last two years, Mohali has collected Rs 33 lakh while Bathinda has collected Rs 4.5 crore from cow cess.