AAP legislators slammed the BJP for not coming up with a single "gaushala" (Representational)
The Delhi assembly on Monday constituted a panel to look into matters of stray cow welfare and utilisation of funds given to "gaushalas" here after MLAs of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party slammed the BJP-ruled municipal corporations of Delhi of financial "misappropriation".
The proposal to form the committee was moved by AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj and it was approved by the House on the first day of its two-day session.
Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said that the committee will submit its report on the issues to the House in a month's time.
In a discussion on the issues, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators slammed the BJP and the municipal corporations for not coming up with a single "gaushala" (cow shelter) in the city and not attending to stray cattle.
Delhi has three municipal corporations -- South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) -- and all have mayors who are from the BJP.
Mr Bhardwaj said that due to apathy of the civic bodies, stray cows eat from garbage dumps, consuming plastic and even nails.
"Such a situation has come that you have to look for garbage dumps if you wish to find cows. MCDs (municipal corporations of Delhi) have not paid money to NGOs managing gaushalas," Bhardwaj alleged.
It was during the discussion that he proposed that the assembly should form a committee to look into these issues.
AAP's Palam MLA Bhawna Gaur said that MCDs have failed miserably on managing cow shelters and also did not fulfil their promise, made during the 2017 civic elections, of opening new "gaushalas".
"There are four gaushalas being run by civic bodies. MCDs have not given money to gaushalas due to which their upkeep is not happening, and many cows are either dying or roaming on roads and eating garbage. It is because of corruption in MCDs that they are unable to give funds for gaushalas," she said.
Gaur added that the EDMC has not given a single penny to NGOs managing cow shelters since September 2018 while the SDMC has released a meagre amount. The situation of the NDMC is no different, the MLA said.
The civic bodies had announced that they will make Delhi "cattle free capital", but nothing has been done so far on that front, she said. The EDMC had in January 2021 announced that it will put microchips on cows so that they don't roam on roads. But nothing has been done so far, Gaur alleged.
AAP MLA Rohit Kumar Mehraulia said that BJP's politics revolves around the cow but still "gaay mata" is in such a distress.
"They ask for votes on the name of the cow but they don't take care of them. Cows are forced to eat garbage. This is shameful. Jo gau mootra ke naam par vote mangte hai to unhe chullu bhar gau mootra me doob ke mar jana chahiye (Those who ask for votes in the name of cow urine, they should drown themselves in a handful of cow urine)," Mehraulia said in the House.
Participating in the discussion, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said he will serve any punishment if the AAP MLAs prove that the BJP is less concerned about cows and their welfare.
He questioned if the Arvind Kejriwal government has sanctioned any land for starting "gaushalas".
"The Kejriwal government should provide one and half times more land and funds for opening a 'Gau Sadan' for cows, as compared to that done by governments of chief ministers Madan Lal Khurana and Sahib Singh Verma," Bidhuri said in the assembly. In his replying, Delhi Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain said that the BJP is in the MCD for 15 years but it has done nothing for welfare of cows.
He said that land comes under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant Governor not the Delhi government. "Gram Sabha land is under the L-G and the Delhi Development Authority. The Delhi government will give twice the land as compared to what was given by earlier governments provided the L-G agrees," he said.
The Delhi government gives Rs 20 per cow per day for "guashals". Now, MCDs are demanding more fund so that they can misappropriate it, he said.
Mr Jain also supported the proposal of AAP MLA Bhardwaj for formation of the committee to look into issues of cow welfare.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)