The Chhattisgarh government has broadened the scope of its Godhan Nyay Yojana (cow shelters). The state government aims to utilise cow pee it purchases at Rs 4 per litre to manufacture the fertiliser Jeevamrit and insecticide Brahmastra.
The Chhattisgarh government began purchasing gau mutra (cow urine) from its gothans on Thursday, broadening the scope of its Godhan Nyay Yojana (cow shelters). The state government aims to utilise cow pee it purchases at Rs 4 per litre to manufacture the fertiliser Jeevamrit and the insecticide Brahmastra.
On Thursday, during the Hareli festivities, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched the initiative in the hamlet of Karsa in Patan. Hareli, a Chhattisgarh agricultural festival, is one of the three regional holidays that the Baghel government observes.
https://twitter.com/bhupeshbaghel/status/1552642359803858944?s=20&t=TLez3euMGg8oquegU61FUQ
The Congress government’s main programme, the Godhan Nyay Yojana, was introduced in 2020. The government started buying cow dung at a price of Rs 2 per kg in order to turn it into organic fertiliser. Gothan Samitis were established to work in tandem with neighbourhood self-help organisations to put up a mechanised system.
Now that they have the authority, these Gothan Samitis may get cow urine and have it made into Brahmastra or Jeevamrit. The government has published the recommended pesticide and fertiliser formulas. The government-issued leaflet states that the fertiliser has a 7-day shelf life if manufactured and utilised locally.
“Chief Minister Baghel requested an action plan from Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain about the scientific use of cow urine in February of this year.”
Baghel talked extensively about the Godhan Yojana programme during the Assam and UP elections, defying a minority move for a no-confidence vote in the Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday night. In fact, one of the selling points for the system in all government announcements is that it seems to have caught on in a number of other states.
The Godhan Nyay Yojana, which came after the Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Yojana, was based on a straightforward idea: boosting the rural economy by providing money directly to the communities. By turning rural communities into producers of goods that are subsequently marketed in the nearby metropolis, Baghel has taken the idea a step further.
While more than 76 lakh quintals of cow dung have been purchased in the last two years, only 22 lakh quintals of organic manure have been generated by women self-help organisations. For the purchase of dung, the government gave the Gothan Samitis Rs 153 crore. In the last two years, the self-help organisations have made an additional Rs 74 crore from extracurricular activities like producing cow dung products in the gothans.
