Unfair levy

UP's cow cess penalises people for govt's faults

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to impose a 2 per cent gau raksha (cow welfare) cess on excise items. This apart, a 0.5 per cent cess will be levied on state-operated tolls. The government has also increased the levy on the tax revenue of the UP Agricultural Marketing Board, or Mandi Parishad, from 1 per cent to 2 per cent. The money will be used to set up and run “gauvansh ashray asthals” (or cattle shelters). These shelters, to be made functional in all villages, panchayats, municipalities and municipal corporations, will be run by urban and rural civic bodies and are aimed at tackling the growing menace of stray cattle in the state. Additionally, money from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme will be used to fund these cowsheds. Also, eight profit-making public sector undertakings such as Setu Nigam (Bridge Corporation) and UP State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) will now have to contribute 0.5 per cent of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) kitty towards the cow shelter scheme. The aim is to put in place a cowshed with a capacity of accommodating a minimum 1,000 animals in every district of the state.

The question is why the people of UP are being made to pay for what is essentially a policy misstep of the ruling regime. To be sure, UP is not the first state in the country to impose such a cess. Punjab levied a similar cess and Rajasthan imposed a cow surcharge under the BJP governments, without any real benefits to show for it. In UP, trouble started as soon as the BJP formed its government in March 2017. One of its first decisions was to shut down all illegal slaughterhouses and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to cow smuggling. While it is no one’s case that illegal slaughterhouses should be allowed to carry on, the state government did nothing to find any alternative means of livelihood for these small and marginal businessmen and their employees. The illogical decision also completely upset the dynamics of the meat trade in the state with adverse backward linkages. One of the biggest downsides was that cattle owners, who in the past used to sell unproductive animals to slaughterhouses, found it more convenient to simply abandon them. What made matters worse was the rise of violence unleashed by the so-called gaurakshaks (cow-protectors), who often penalised even those who traded in buffaloes.

The end result is for all to see. While small traders associated with the meat industry got a severe jolt, farmers also suffered. Reports suggest that desperate farmers, especially in western UP, are locking up abandoned cattle in schools and government buildings for fear of crop damage. That is not to mention the plight of the cattle, many of whom are dying of starvation or asphyxiation. Instead of imposing a cess, the government should reconsider its policy, which has helped none. A cultural affection for cows has happily coexisted with trade in cattle for ages and restrictions on the cattle trade don’t make any commercial sense. Why should people be forced to finance what ultimately is a token of one brand of politics?