'Cow cess' on movies, weddings in Haryana?

CHANDIGARH: In a bid to create an independent corpus for the welfare of cows, the Haryana Gau Sewa Ayog has sent a proposal to the Manohar Lal Khattar government to impose 5% 'cow cess' on cinema tickets in addition to the 20% entertainment tax which is already levied. The commission also wants to charge 2,100 at the time of booking a banquet hall for a function. Besides, it wants 50% donations diverted from government-managed temples to protect cows.

The commission also wants to levy 1 on each bag of wheat, paddy and other crops bought from the state's mandis. A senior officer told TOI that the mandi proposal alone could fetch 100 crore annually. If all the proposals of Haryana's cow commission are accepted, it could well emerge more powerful than a department headed by a cabinet rank minister in the state!

All this is apart from the 300-strong task force of cops under an IPS officer that the government has recently created to protect the cows. The commission itself has two dozen members, including the state DGP and eight senior IAS officers.

The government has already approved 20 crore annually to develop 'cow sanctuaries' or modern gaushalas with all facilities.

Commission chairman Baani Ram Mangla (70), an old RSS hand, said the state manages rich temples like Mata Mansa Devi at Panchkula, Sheetala Mata Mandir at Gurgaon and the shrines under Kurukshetra development board. The Panchkula temple alone receives donations worth 18 crore annually.

The commission had earlier proposed to levy 2 on every bottle of liquor sold in the state. This would have generated another 100 crore for cows. But the RSS did not like the idea of feeding cows with liquor money and the proposal was shot down.

Justifying his tax proposals, Mangla said: "We want a well-stocked veterinary hospital with doctors and medicines in every gaushala. We have planned bio-gas and solar energy plants in the shelters as well. We will be able to make concrete plans once the proposals are implemented."

Mangla said he had even written to the Tirupati temple management in Andhra, requesting them to "adopt some of the gaushalas in Haryana". The state has 425 gaushalas housing 3.12 lakh cows and bulls. Another 1.17 lakh cattle are stray according to a government estimate.

"It's not difficult for temples to adopt gaushalas. Some of them have a massive stash of gold. Jhandewalan Temple of Delhi has already opened a gaushala in Manesar apart from donating 10-15 lakh for a gaushala in Mewat," Mangla added.

Haryana animal husbandry minister Om Prakash Dhankar said the government would focus on making cows "economically viable for farmers so that they can keep them at home happily".

OSD to Khattar, Amit Arya, said the government would consider the commission's suggestions.