The cow cess on sale of liquor is proving to be a major source of income for government-aided Gau Seva in Rajasthan. The state government has collected the revenue Rs 1,205 crores in the last three years as cow cess on sale of liquor and the money is being spent to feed the cows and for the maintenance of Gaushalas.
The information was given by the state government in assembly on Thursday during the question hour and the parliament affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal even thanked the previous Bjp government for imposing this cess on the sale of liquor. "We thank the Bjp government for imposing this cess as the money is being used to feed the cows. Those who consume alcohol do not feed the cows even after being told by the pundits. Now at least on the pretext of cess on liquor, fodder is reaching to the cows," said Dhariwal in the house while replying to the question raised by the MLA Sanyam Lodha.
Notably, the Rajasthan government is collecting 10 per cent cow cess on stamp duty and 20 per cent on the sale of liquor. This 20 per cent cess was imposed in 2018 during the BJP regime. The present Congress government has continued this and collected revenue of Rs 2176.05 crores in the last three years and spent more than Rs 1644 crores on grant and development of Gaushalas.
It is to mention here that with 13.9 million cattle, Rajasthan ranks 6th in the country in terms of cattle population according to the livestock census of 2019.
