Cow cess will not be imposed in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: Minister of Animal Husbandry Prem Singh Patel said in the House on Monday that there would not be any cow cess in the state. In reply to a written question by Congress legislator PC Sharma, Patel informed the House that the state had never imposed it; nor, the present government had any plans to do that.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan set up Gau Cabinet in November last year.

The issue of imposing cow cess figured in the first meeting of the Gau cabinet.

The animal husbandry department made a proposal for imposing cow cess and sent to the government. It was also decided that the cess would be used for managing the cowsheds and for arranging fodder for the cattle. The government was also mulling over how cow cess can be imposed and the items on which it can be charged, that there might not be any burden on common man.

Cow cess has been imposed in UP, Punjab, Haryana and other states. The Congress launched a protest against cow cess. The minister’s reply, however, indicates that the government has scrapped the plan to impose cow cess because of the protest.