The Tamil Nadu government will construct 25,000 cow and goat shelters for farmers in a drive to support the economy of dairy farmers from the rural areas. The plan will be actualized at an expense of Rupees 431 crore by the dept. of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) to a total of 25,000 recipients, 40% of which are from the Scheduled Castes.
RDPR Director, K S Palanisamy said "The whole expense of the development of the shelters would be endured by the centre and will be actualized through the Village Panchayats. The works will be done through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme." In accordance with the Government Order, out of 25,000 shelters, 15,000 would be developed for cows and the rest 10,000 will be for goats.
The per unit development cost of a shelter to take in 2 cows is Rupees 1.35 lakh and for 5 cows is Rupees 2.12 lakh. The normal expense of a shelter for accommodating 10 goats is Rupees 1.53 lakh and for a total of 20 goats is Rupees 2.27 lakh. The absence of cattle shelters influences the internal temperature levels of cows which is vital for impregnating a cow through manual semen injection. The normal life expectancy and milk yielding limit of cattles additionally descends, farmers said.
General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Milk Producers’ Welfare Association, M G Rajendran said "By and large, a farmer can acquire Rupees 500 to Rupees 1000 every week through milk production alone. The cow shelters will help the cows in boosting the milk creation in the State." He added, Government's 2011 initiative allowed free milch dairy cows and goats to be shared to the farmers. "The cost for the feed is higher and this would upgrade the monetary yield for farmers essentially. The govt. should offer aid to those farmers who got milch cows under plan.'
