1. ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES

• Challenges

Earstwhile royal families and other religious minded people has donated thousands of acres of their land for use for cow welfare. Many cow lovers are running gaushalas where lacs of abandoned cows are being kept and taken care of .But still a very large population of stray/ shelterless cows are roaming in the state which is not only causing loss of human lives in road accidents and damaging crops of farmers, but it is also a cruelty and disrespect to gaumata. The main reason behind it is stoppage of use of bullocks for agriculture purposes due to mechanization, lack of resources for gaushalas and cow welfare and encroachments on gochar/go-charand land.

• Changes.

Gaushalas in the state are financially very weak. These are being run with the help of Non Govt. Organisations and donations from the public. The role of these gaushalas in sheltering and feeding stray cattle is very important. They need urgent financial aid from the govt. There is a need to strengthen   cattle pounds at distt. Level to increase their capacity and to ensure optimal utilization of land available in these cattle pounds.

. We need to improve the efficiency of district level Cow Protection Cells to check the cases of cow slaughtering and smuggling.

We also require to implement various schemes for cow welfare through animal Husbandry Department.

• Reforms

Gaushalas in the state are financially very weak. These are being run with the help of Non govt. Organisations and donations from the public. The role of these gaushalas in sheltering and feeding stray cattle is very important. They need urgent financial aid from the government .

There is a need to construct cattle pounds at distt. Level for stray cattle. We need to improve the efficiency of district level cow protection cell to check the cases of cow slaughtering and smuggling.

We also require to implement various schemes for cow welfare through Animal Husbandry Deptt.

• Outcomes

These efforts will be helpful in addressing the problem of stray cattle in the state besides helping in the breed improvement and development of cows and control of cow slaughtering and smuggling.

2. EVALUATION: SWOT ANALYSIS: (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats)

a) Significant challenges to the Commission:

Earstwhile royal families and other religious minded people had donated thousands of acres of their land for use for cow welfare. Many cow lovers are running gaushalas where lacs of abandoned cows are being kept and taken care of. But still a very large population of stray shelterless cows are roaming in the state which is not only causing loss of human lives in road accidents and damaging crops of farmers, but it is also a cruelty and disrespect to gaumata.

The main reason behind it is stoppage of use of bullocks for agriculture purposes due to mechanization, lack of resources for gaushalas and cow welfare and encroachments on gochar/go-charand lands.

b) Strengths and opportunities of the Commission

In the state of Punjab five departments are involved in cow welfare and protection activities. These are Animal husbandry, Local govt.,Rural Development, Police and Civil Administration. Punjab Gau Sewa Commission is making all efforts to ensure cow protection and welfare by holding regular meetings with officers of these departments at different levels besides holding quarterly meetings of its governing body where representatives of above departments are also invited. It is pertinent to mention here that Punjab Gau Sewa Commission is only a supervisory/advisory body for cow welfare and protection activities in the state. No funds are released to this commission directly for implementation of various schemes for cow welfare. The commission is making all efforts to ensure cow welfare and protection with the help of government and other social welfare organization.This commission with 10 Non Official Members including its Chairperson and Vice Chairperson having interest in cow welfare are well versed with the requirements on the ground level to ensure proper care and protection of every cow in the state. Commission can play a very significant role in addressing the problem of stray cattle in the state.

c) Punjab Gau Sewa Commission is not provided with any funds except for salaries and other office expenses.

The govt. is requested to allocate sufficient funds for the cattle pounds being constructed in all the districts. Gaushalas should be given financial aid to improve their capacity and for better care of cows kept in them. Enough funds should be made available to Animal Husbandry Deptt. for implementation of cow welfare schemes.