Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav on Monday set Madhya Pradesh an ambitious target: to make it the “Milk Capital of India” within the next two years. Speaking at the State-Level Gau Poojan and Livestock Rearers’ Felicitation Ceremony on Govardhan Pooja in Bhopal, he said the state’s daily milk collection capacity would be raised from 12 lakh kg to 52 lakh kg.
The push, he said, will come through White Revolution 2.0, under which dairy cooperatives are being strengthened across the state.
Alongside, the entire dairy value chain is being made 100 per cent digital to improve transparency and efficiency.
Higher yields, Yadav said, depend on better cattle breeds. Besides indigenous cows, Gir and Sahiwal are known for high milk output. He informed that Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has approved a centre in Bhopal for producing embryos of high-yielding breeds, on the lines of Gujarat’s.
The centre will produce one lakh embryos annually. A hi-tech gaushala housing 10,000 cattle is also coming up at Barkhedi Dob in Bhopal.
The government, he added, will increase the number of cow ambulances and develop modern, self-reliant gaushalas. Stray and destitute cows are being moved to the nearest gaushalas, and the per-cow grant for their upkeep has been doubled from Rs 20 to Rs 40.
Under the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Kamdhenu Yojana, rearers setting up a unit of 25 milch cows or buffaloes can get loans of up to Rs 42 lakh and subsidies of up to Rs 13.86 lakh.
At the event, Yadav pressed a remote button to transfer Rs 65.66 crore in one click for the upkeep of over 5.51 lakh cattle in more than 3,000 registered gaushalas.
Under the Gopal-Krishna Gram Puraskar Yojana, he also transferred Rs 2.95 crore directly into the bank accounts of 466 outstanding rearers. First-, second- and third-prize winners received Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively.
Among those felicitated with certificates and special 56 Bhog platters were Gaurav Raghuvanshi, Dnyaneshwar Patel, Sunil Singh Panwar, Kushal Singh Dangi and several other leading milk producers.
Raghuvanshi’s Gir cow from Talod village in Ujjain district took first place in the state, yielding 19.760 litres of milk a day. Gau sevaks and gaushala operators Premichand Jain, Suraj Parmar, Brijesh Vyas and Prahlad Das Mangal were also honoured for years of service to cattle.
Describing the government as an integral part of society, Yadav said it would now participate actively in all kinds of social events. Invoking Lord Krishna, who lifted Govardhan Hill to protect Braj and its cattle from floods, he said the festival reflects faith, tradition and gratitude towards nature. He urged people to resolve to conserve cattle wealth, protect natural resources and build an Aatmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh.
Cow rearing, he said, is not only a matter of faith but a foundation of the rural economy. Cow dung feeds organic and natural farming, he noted, claiming that Madhya Pradesh ranks first in the country in natural farming. Prosperity cannot come from crops alone, he argued, and agriculture must be complemented by animal husbandry, fisheries, horticulture and natural farming.
Large-scale livestock fairs will be organised across the state, where the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry departments will showcase modern equipment and high-yielding breeds.
Yadav also said Vrindavan Grams are being developed in all 313 development blocks to encourage rearers, Geeta Bhavans are coming up in urban areas, and works worth Rs 400 crore are under way at Orchha for Shri Ramraja Sarkar Lok, with Rs 2,000 crore of projects in Chitrakoot.
