BJP to relaunch 'Gothan' as 'Gaudham' in Chhattisgarh

The BJP government in Chhattisgarh is set to relaunch the erstwhile Congress government's flagship 'Gothan' scheme under a new name - 'Gaudham'. The state finance department has approved a draft of the scheme and sent it to district collectors across the state, said officials.

The erstwhile Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government had launched the scheme under which it started buying cow dung from farmers through more than 10,000 Gothan centres. However, after BJP came to power, the purchase of cow dung was stopped. With increasing accidents involving stray cattle on the roads and highways, state government has now prepared a revamped plan under the scheme. Just last week, more than 90 cows died in three separate incidents.

The Gaudham centres under the renamed scheme will be used to keep the stray cattle from roaming on the streets. The government will not buy cow dung and instead provide monetary support to cattle grazers. It will provide a monthly honorarium to cattle grazers and a daily fodder budget for the cattle at the centres. The cattle grazers will receive ₹10,916 each per month while for every animal the initial budget has been kept as ₹10 per day. In the first phase, Gaudham centres will be set up in rural areas alongside the National Highway (NH)-6 .