The Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021 Passed in Assam Assembly

GUWAHATI: The Cattle Preservation Bill passed has been passed in the Assam Assembly on August 13. The bill was passed by a voice vote in the state assembly.

Meanwhile, a chaotic situation prevailed inside the house of the Assam Assembly over the Cattle Preservation Bill as opposition party leaders do not agree to the passing of the bill.

The Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021 Prohibits:

> Transport of cattle from or through Assam

> Sale and consumption of beef or beef products in areas predominantly inhabited by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and others

> Sale and consumption of beef or beef products within a 5-km radius of any temple, Satra, or other Hindu religious institutions

> Slaughter of cattle without permission from the competent authority.

Congress leader Debabrata Saikia called for sending the bill to a select committee.

"According to statistics, there are 19.327 crore cows in Assam. Cows are not endangered animals, why laws are being sought for conservation?" questioned AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam.

Aminul Islam said that the matter has been looked at only from a religious perspective.

'According to the documents and statements provided by Aminul Islam, Assam farmers have built an economy of Rs 20,000 crore a year with the help of cows. But with this bill, the economy will go down to Rs. 1 crore.

Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday stated that the Assam government has introduced the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021 in the State Assembly to protect and preserve cows from slaughter in the state.

The bill aims for making the cow protection law identical to other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Just like Assam cabinet decisions, earlier, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said that he will raise the issue with the Assam Government as well as with the Center if the law influences transits of cattle to Meghalaya from different states.

CM Sarma stated that the new bill incorporates legal provisions to control the slaughter, utilization, and transportation of cattle According to the new law for the main offense, a person can be surrendered imprisonment of up to eight years and a fine of Rs 8 lakh and for the subsequent offense, the punishment will be double the penalty.

Further, the Assam government has proposed sex-sorted artificial insemination to ensure more production of cows than bulls.

"There will be an increase in the number of high genetic female calves born in cattle & buffalo farms with the use of sex-sorted semen. It would control the birth of scrub bulls as 80 to 90 percent of all births would be female calves. Female births shall help in meeting the ever-increasing demand for milk in the State," Finance Minister Ajanta Neog informed the Assembly through her budget statement on Friday.

In the current financial year (2021-22), the State Budget has proposed to cover 50,000 cattle & buffaloes with the use of 1.25 lakh doses of high genetic merit sex-sorted frozen semen procured from reputed sources within the country.

Also Read: Assam government proposed sex-sorted artificial insemination

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