While the debate over cow vigilantism intensifies after repeated instances of violence across the country, the Centre has now decided to create Aadhaar-like UID for approximately 47 million indigenous and crossbred cows across the country. The Centre has made this proposal to the Supreme Court, said reports on Monday. The cow UID will have details like age, breed, sex, lactation, height, body, colour, horn type, tail switch and special marks of the animal.
Interestingly, discussion on such a step was heavily criticised and lampooned last year, however, the central government had made up its mind to implement the decision, taking the inscrutable cow politics to a new level.
The government in it’s report to the Apex Court said that “Each cow and its progeny across India should get a Unique Identification Number for tracking.”
To ensure protection to cows across the country, the central government also recommended special care for cattle beyond the age of milking, while stressing on the launching of a scheme for distressed farmers. In the submission, special attention has been put in adopting measures for cow protection and to stop the smuggling of cattle across the India-Bangladesh border. Centre made this proposal on the basis of recommendations made by a committee headed by the Joint Secretary, Home Ministry.
In order to check cow-smuggling, each district should have a shelter home of a capacity of at least 500 abandoned animals. The panel has suggested that the state governments will have to fund these facilities for cows. The purpose of this move is to tag and track cattle so that they are vaccinated on time and scientific intervention is made available for better breeding and increasing milk production, doubling the income of dairy farmers in the process by 2022.
To execute this, technicians have been employed and trained to affix a polyurethane tag inside the ears of the cattle with a tag applicator. This tag will be long-lasting, tamper-proof and cannot be opened by a wrench, said officials. Fixing a target to finish the drive by 2017, the Centre will invest about Rs 148 crore on the tags, tag applicators, tablets and health cards, officials said.
