MP Cabinet nod to ‘self-reliant Gaushalas, renames livestock scheme after Ambedkar

Bhopal: In a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday, the Madhya Pradesh government approved several key decisions, including establishing self-reliant cow shelters, policy reforms in animal husbandry, educational MoUs, and renaming the livestock scheme after Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.

“To address the issue of stray cattle, the Cabinet approved the ‘Self-Reliant Gaushala Policy – 2025’, under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying”, said Deputy CM Rajendra Shukla while addressing a press briefing on the Cabinet decision. “The government also doubled the per-cow daily grant from Rs 20 to Rs 40, in line with the Chief Minister’s announcement to promote the establishment of gaushalas across the state”, Shukla said.

In a symbolic move, the Cabinet renamed the ‘Mukhyamantri Pashupalan Vikas Yojana’ to ‘Dr Ambedkar Pashupalan Vikas Yojana’. The Yojana aims to expand employment opportunities in the livestock sector, increase productivity, and enhance rural income, the Deputy CM said.

The scheme will now continue through 2024–25 and 2025–26. Under this, farmers will receive zero-interest credit cards, and programmes for embryo transfer, infertility treatment camps, dairy support, fodder production, and awareness campaigns will be continued, he added.

In another decision, the Cabinet approved to sign an MoU with EdCIL (India) Limited to improve the quality of school education.

Shukla said that the collaboration under the ‘Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan’ will focus on learning outcome-based assessments, teacher development, exposure visits, and continuous professional development of educators.

The Cabinet also gave administrative approval to the Malhargarh (Shivna) Pressurised Micro-Irrigation Project in Mandsaur district, with an estimated cost of Rs 2,932.30 crore. The project, part of the Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal (PKC) National River Linking Project, will irrigate 60,000 hectares and benefit 147 villages, he further added.

The Cabinet gave post-facto approval to the revised tender format for establishing medical colleges under the PPP mode.

Now, the government will provide 25 acres of land at Rs 1 for establishing private medical colleges to promote the state’s investment model, Shukla said. “The cabinet also lifted the provision of transferring

district hospitals to private developers. Now, these hospitals will operate as-is and remain under government control”, he emphasised.

Additionally, the Cabinet approved state guarantees for working capital loans and cash credit facilities for power companies in Madhya Pradesh.

The Cabinet also authorised the Finance Department to issue approvals for projects under public finance schemes, streamlining the scrutiny and administrative sanction process.

The Cabinet also approved a state-level empowered committee headed by the Chief Secretary, which has been authorised to make further amendments and resolve related issues.