Baghel to transfer Rs 5.60 crore for Godhan Nyay Yojana beneficiaries

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will virtually transfer a total of Rs 5.60 crore into the bank accounts of farmers, cattle-rearing villagers, Gauthan committees and women self-help groups under the Godhan Nyay Yojana through a program that will be organized at the Chief Minister's residence office on Monday.

This will include Rs 2.69 crore which was paid in lieu of 1.34 lakh quintal cow dung purchased from cattle-rearing villagers, farmers, and landless farmers in Gauthans from August 15 to August 31, and a dividend of Rs 1.48 crore paid to Gauthan committees and Rs 93 lakh paid to women's SHGs are also included.

Under the Godhan Nyay Yojana, Rs 335 crore 24 lakh has been paid to the beneficiaries in the state so far, which includes a bonus amount of Rs 18 crore. After the payment of Rs 5.09 crore on September 5, the amount paid under this scheme will reach to Rs 340 crore 35 lakh.

The Godhan Nyay Yojana is the only scheme in the country and the world, under which cow dung at the rate of Rs 2 per kg and cow urine at the rate of Rs 4 per litre is procured in the Gauthans of Chhattisgarh state. An amount of Rs 158.24 crore has also been paid to villagers for selling 79.12 lakh quintals of cow dung till August 15 in Gauthans. After the payment of Rs 2.69 crore to cow dung vendors on September 05, this figure will reach Rs 160.94 crore. An amount of Rs 154.02 crore has been paid so far to Gauthan committees and women's self-help groups. After payment of Rs 2.40 crore to Gauthan committees and self-help groups on September 05, this figure will reach Rs 156.42 crore.

In Gauthans, vermicompost, super-compost, super-compost plus and other products are being produced on a large scale from cow dung purchased under the Godhan Nyay Yojana by women groups.

As many as 17.57 lakh quintals of vermicompost, more than 5.28 lakh quintals of super compost and 18,924 quintals of super compost plus manure have been produced by women's groups, which are being supplied through societies to various departments of the government and farmers at concessional rates of Rs 10, Rs 6 and Rs.6.5 respectively.

Apart from producing manure from cow dung, women's groups are earning profit by manufacturing and selling gau-casts, lamps, incense sticks, idols and other materials. Apart from this, various income-oriented activities are being conducted by women groups in Gauthans, besides vegetable and mushroom cultivation, poultry, goat, and fish farming, through which women groups have earned an income of Rs 80.30 crore so far. There are 11,187 SHGs directly associated with Gauthans in the state, with a member of 83,874. Electricity generation has been started in Gauthans from purchased cow dung, informed the government.

It is noteworthy that the production of natural paint from cow dung has also started in Hirapur-Jarwai Gauthan of Raipur. Fulling the determination of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Gauthans are being developed as Rural Industrial Parks. To promote income-oriented activities, agricultural and forest produce-based processing units, units for manufacturing natural paint from cow dung are being established. The work for setting up mini rice mills and other types of units including Oil mills in 227 Gauthans and Pulse Mills in 292 Gauthans is in progress, added the government release.

Construction of gauthans is being done at a rapid pace in the villages for efficient livestock management and conservation. So far, approval has been given for the construction of gauthans in 10,624 villages in the state, out of which 8,408 gauthans are functional and 1758 gauthans are under construction.

According to the government, cow dung worth Rs 18 crore 24 lakh has been purchased by self-supporting Gauthans using their own funds. More than 2 lakh 52 thousand rural and livestock farmers are getting benefited from Godhan Nyay Yojana. Women make up 45.90 per cent of those earning additional income by selling cow dung. More than one lakh 48 thousand landless families benefit from this scheme.

At present, SHGs of 72 Gauthans are procuring cow urine from cattle-rearers. So far 21,492 litres of cow urine have been procured, through which SHGs have produced 5160 litres of Brahmastra insecticide and 6582 litres of Jeevamrut. Farmers are buying it for agricultural use. So far, Brahmastra insecticides and Jeevamrut insecticides worth Rs 2.5 lakh have been sold by women's groups.

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