Maharashtra govt hikes quantity of fodder in cattle camps

The Maharashtra government has increased the quantity of fodder being provided for animals in cattle camps set up in the drought-affected areas.

According to a Government Order (GO) issued on May 4, the quantity of fodder has been raised from 15 kg to 18 kg for big animals and 7.5 kg to 9 kg for small ones.

It has been made mandatory for owners of cattle camps to keep a record of number of animals registered with them, it said.

To help shelter owners update data on animals, a mobile application, "cattle camp management system", has been developed by a private company, Shaurya Technosoft, the GO said.

This application will be provided to the cattle camp owners free of cost, it said.

The camp owners will have to scan the barcode attached near the animal's ear and upload all the information in the software application. The exercise of uploading information will have to be done daily, it said.

This will help the district administration in getting information about the number of animals in the camps and accordingly provide financial assistance for them, the order said.

At present, there are 1,264 cattle camps functioning in the state housing 8.32 lakh animals. Each big animal gets a grant of Rs 90 and the small one Rs 45 for water and fodder.

The cattle camp owners are supposed to put a barcode tag in the ear of animals under their care. The GO said district collectors should contact the company to get unique numbers so that the barcode is not repeated.

The software will list the number of animals and their owners in the app.

Areas spread across more than two dozen districts in the state are facing acute water shortage.