CHANDIGARH: In a bid to streamline the functioning of cattle pounds run by the government in the districts, and to effectively redress of the menace of stray animals, the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday gave approval for running these cattle pounds in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
The Cabinet has authorised Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to carry out any changes in the new policy, as needed.
According to a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s office, there would be no financial burden on the state to run these cattle pounds (except Amritsar and Ferozepur) in PPP mode as these will become self-sustainable by generating the required revenue through various approved activities.
In line with this decision, the Cabinet has also approved an Expression of Interest (EOI) to be taken from the interested NGOs/Societies/Organizations/Individuals/Service Providers/Companies/Trusts, along with terms and conditions.
The decision to go for PPP mode and accordingly invite EOI was taken in July 2020 by the Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted in September 2019 to address the problem of stray animals.
Pertinently, 20 cattle pounds are established in Punjab (except Amritsar and Ferozepur due to court cases by villagers), in which as many as 10, 024 stray cattle are managed, with the Government releasing Rs. 4385.35 lakh in a staggered manner for construction of the cattle pounds and proper upkeep of stray animals. In accordance with the original plan, six cattle sheds were to be constructed, thus making it a total of 132 (22x6). However, in these 20 districts, only 76 cattle sheds have been constructed so far, with the rest of the 56 still to come up.