Raipur, 29 July 2022
It was a historic moment when Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel commenced the procurement of Gaumutra in the state, on the occasion of Hareli Tihaar. The CM inaugurated this initiative at the grand Hareli celebration programme organised at CM House on 28 July. On the occasion, the Chief Minister became the first Gaumutra seller of the state, by selling 5 litres of cow urine for Rs 20 to Nidhi self-help group of Chandkhuri. At his request, Nidhi Self-Help Group deposited this amount of Gaumutra sale in the account of the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Chhattisgarh is the first state in the country to procure Gaumutra at the rate of Rs 4 a litre. It is known that Chhattisgarh is also the first state in the country to procure dung from farmers and villagers. At the grand Hareli celebration programme, Bhupesh Baghel worshipped the agricultural equipment and tools and prayed for the prosperity of the state. He also fed fodder to Gaumata (cow) and worshipped her. On this occasion, the Chief Minister also distributed an incentive (bonus) amount of Rs.17 crore to 7442 women self-help groups of the state, for producing organic fertilisers.
In his address to the programme, CM Bhupesh Baghel said that considering the multi-dimensional positive impact of Godhan Nyay Yojana, many states of the country have started adopting this scheme. Under this scheme, people from all sections of society are selling cow dung in Gauthan at Rs 2 a kg. In the last two years, an amount of more than Rs 300 crore has been transferred to the accounts of cow dung vendors, Gauthan committees and women’s groups through Godhan Nyay Yojana. He said that the Chhattisgarh Government is committed to making the farmers and the agriculture sector of Chhattisgarh prosperous. He added that the increased use of organic fertilisers and organic pesticides will reduce the cost of farming and also improve the quality of food.
It is noteworthy that Chhattisgarh Government is the only government in the country that is procuring cow dung from the cattle rearers in rural areas of the state for the last two years. And today, on the occasion of Hareli Tihaar Chhattisgarh Government officially commenced the procurement of Gaumutra in Chhattisgarh, intending to promote animal husbandry and organic farming in the state. Dung procured under the scheme is being already utilised to produce organic manure and now the Gaumutra procured at gauthans will be used to manufacture organic insecticides, Jeevamrut, and growth promoters. This would not only promote organic farming but will also reduce the input cost of farming.
It is worth mentioning here that Godhan Nyay Yojana was started in Chhattisgarh 2 years ago on 20th July 2020, on the day of the Hareli festival. Under this scheme, cow dung is being purchased at the rate of Rs 2 per kg from the cattle-rearing villagers. Considering the unmatched success of Godhan Nyay Yojana so far, Chhattisgarh Government has decided to expand the scope of the scheme and procure Gaumutra as well. The motive behind this decision is to improve the quality of food production and to reduce the cost of farming.
Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers and chemical pesticides in agriculture is destroying the nutritional value of food items and is also affecting the fertility of the land. Now with the Gaumutra procured in Gauthans, women groups will produce organic pesticides, which will be made available to the farmers at a subsidised rate. The cost of these organic pesticides will be much less than the cost of expensive chemical insecticide pesticides available in the market. Agricultural scientists believe that cow urine is a better and cheaper alternative to insecticide, chemical insecticide. Its disease resistance is much higher than chemical insecticides.
It is worth mentioning that Gauthans have been built and are being operated in 8408 villages of the state, under the Garva component of Suraji Gaon Yojana. In these Gauthans, Over 76 lakh quintals of cow dung have been procured in the last two years, instead of which an amount of more than Rs 153 crore has been paid to rural cattle farmers. Women groups have so far produced more than 22 lakh quintals of Vermicompost, Super Compost, and Super Compost Plus from the dung procured. These organic fertilisers have been made available to the farmers of the state for agricultural use. Apart from manufacturing organic manure from cow dung, women are also conducting other income-oriented activities in Gauthan and from these, they have earned an additional income of Rs 74 crore in the last two years.
The grand festivities organised at CM House were attended by Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu, Forest Minister Mohammad Akbar, Industries Minister Kawasi Lakhma, Food Minister Amarjeet Bhagat, School Education Minister Dr Premsai Singh Tekam, Women and Child Development Minister Anila Bhendia, Parliamentary Secretary Chintamani Maharaj, Chandradev Rai, Chairman of Gauseva Commission Mahant Rajeshree Ram Sundar Das, Chairman of State Women’s Commission Dr Kiranmayi Nayak, Chairman of State Food Supply Corporation Ram Gopal Agrawal, Chairman of Chhattisgarh State Mineral Development Corporation Girish Devangan, Advisor to the Chief Minister Pradeep Sharma, MLAs Satnarayan Sharma, Anoop Nag, Chandan Kashyap, Anita Yogendra Sharma, Mayor Ejaz Dhebar, Chairman Pramod Dubey, former MP Chhaya Verma, Agriculture Production Commissioner Dr Kamalpreet Singh along with a large number of people.