Jaipur: Hundreds of cows have died, allegedly due to starvation, at the Hingonia cattle rehabilitation centre as the Akshay Patra Foundation, the outsourced agency for its maintenance, has run out of funds. The Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) has not paid the agency’s bills since October and the dues now stand at Rs 11.8 crore.After the matter came to light, the mayor has suspended the gaushala in-charge Rajendra Chittoriya and doctor Kamlesh Meena. He also wrote to the personnel department to suspend deputy commissioner R.K. Meena. On Wednesday, the agency was paid Rs 3 crore, the dues for the month of October.With at least 23 sheds, the centre provides shelter to approximately 21,000 stray cattle. The JMC pays Rs 70 per day per adult cattle and Rs 35 per day per calf for fodder, labour salary and maintenance of the centre.Also Read: Rajasthan Congress’s ‘Adopt-A-Cow’ Policy Was a BJP Order in the PipelineRadha Priya, program coordinator of the Akshay Patra Foundation at Hingonia gaushala, told The Wire that the issue is politically motivated. “Approximately 20 cows die in the gaushala everyday. The JMC didn’t pay us since October. We have been continuously reminding them, but the cows were not left to starve. We gave them the fodder we had in stock, although it was less than what they are used to having,” she said. She refused to comment on the exact number of deaths.In a letter to the JMC commissioner on February 6, the agency wrote:As per the clause 9 and 10 of the agreement, Sri Krishna Balram Seva Trust shall raise claim to the Municipal Corporation Jaipur at the beginning of every month and it shall be ensured that the eligible claim is released within 15 working days after submission of claims.There is no proper dry fodder supply from past one month as the vendors payment has exceeded beyond limit and they have stopped the supply from February. We are trying to arrange from different sources but no success. So, we are feeding only available green fodder and sugar cane. This is a very serious issue and may lead to mass death of cattle because of starvation and malnutrition and we would like to draw your kind attention towards this very serious issue and act immediately.The Trust has been reminding the concerned JMC officials verbally and through many letters time to time but delay in monthly payment is still persisting. We request you to release all the due payments at the earliest before the situation goes out of control.As per the staff at the gaushala, the fodder stocks have substantially decreased since December. “We used to feed the cows twice a day, approximately 60 tonnes. For the past two months, they are being given just 10 tonnes, once in a day,” a worker said, on the condition of anonymity.BJP councillors protestMeanwhile, the councillors of the Bhartiya Janta Party are protesting at the JMC office demanding punishment for ‘gau hatya’ (murder of cows). “Akshay Patra was given the responsibility of taking care of the cows at Hingonia gaushala because the financial condition of the municipal corporation is not always strong. If they can feed the cows only when paid by the corporation, then what’s the point of having an outsourced agency?” said Anil Sharma, a BJP councillor.Also Read: Rajasthan, the Only State With a Cow Welfare Ministry, Leaves Hingonia Gaushala Workers Unprotected“The JMC and Akshay Patra staff should be hanged for gau hatya,” he added.According to sources, the BJP is highlighting the issue as JMC mayor Vishnu Latha, an ex-BJP councillor, was elected recently with the Congress’s support. Latha nominated himself against the candidate fielded by the BJP.The Congress-led state government has claimed that it has no role in maintaining the gaushala. “The memorandum of understanding was signed between the JMC and the Akshay Patra Foundation. If there was any fault in the timely payment, it’s the sole responsibility of the JMC,” said Archana Sharma, spokesperson of the Congress party.BJP councillors protesting at the JMC office. Credit: Shruti JainOfficials play blame gameMeanwhile, JMC officials are playing the blame game. R.K. Meena, who has been served a suspension letter for neglecting the payment, said the bill was sent to the account’s section. “We passed on the bill sent by Akshay Patra, but the account section, where the amount is finally credited didn’t sanction it. Nobody is questioning them,” he told The Wire.Due to the unavailability of funds, the workers at the gaushala have also not received their salaries since December. “We have asked the ‘Prabhu’ here about our PF several times, but received no response,” Shankar Lal, a worker in the Hingonia gaushala told The Wire.The agency did mention this in its letter to the commissioner:Further, even the labourers who are working in the gaushala are not paid timely because of non-availability of funds from many months. We are also not able to comply with statutory compliances like Employees’ State Insurance and Provident Fund because of payment delay from JMC.In a similar incident three years ago, hundreds of cows died in the centre due to the JMC’s negligence. After it was highlighted by the media, the previous Vasundhara Raje government outsourced the maintenance to the Akshay Patra Foundation in 2017.
