Haryana government is planning PG-like accommodations for cows

• The programme is designed for those who live in high-rise buildings in cities and do not have the space to keep cows.
• Owners will have to pay for the shelter, caretakers and fodder.
  
• While the Gau Seva Panel has 16 members, the Haryana Human Rights Commission has zero members.
  

Haryana, the indisputable leader when it comes to treating cows right, has now decided to help out the poor city dwellers who are bereft of the pleasure of owning cows by providing a space for cows as paid guests in dairy farms located near cities.

“The programme is being designed keeping in mind those who live in high-rise buildings in cities. We assume that many of those who earn a lot may want to own cattle, but have no place to keep them where they live. They can make use of this facility,” Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar told the Hindu BusinessLine.

The project is in its planning stage but essentially the government will set up dairies and in these dairies, they plan to have a space earmarked for the esteemed paying guests. Here they will be fed, taken care of and if the owner wishes, he or she can also monitor the cow's well being. "An Italian company recently came out with a device costing ₹6,000, which when tied around the neck of the animal, would be able to monitor how much feed the animal has taken and how much milk it has given,” Dhankar said. All this comes at a cost, of course, and owners will have to pay for the shelter, caretakers and fodder.

Owners can also opt to collect the milk the cow has given for their own consumption or sell it directly to the dairy. “On weekends, the owners can visit their cattle for doing pujas,” Dhankar added.

As is obvious, the government of Haryana has taken quite a few measures to ensure cow safety and prosperity. On March 5th, the chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar declared that the government will take strict action against owners who abandon their milch cows. "The government has tagged cattle in the gaushalas as it would help in knowing their location. Tagging of cattle kept in the houses would also be carried out so that these are not abandoned in any situation," Khattar said. The government has already enacted the "Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan" Act for the protection of cows. And of course, there is the Haryana Gau Seva Panel that has been entrusted with the preservation and welfare of cows. But perhaps it would be worth noting that while the Gau Seva Panel has 16 members, the Haryana Human Rights Commission has zero members and more than 2,205 cases pending.