Some State government employees and their associations have opposed the plea that they should donate for the ‘Punyakoti Dattu Yojane’, Karnataka government’s cattle adoption scheme, while the president of the Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association insisted that “99% of employees” are agreeable to the idea.
A meeting has been called on Thursday to discuss the proposal that all employees should contribute for the cow adoption scheme, among other issues. Some protests have been planned opposing this the same morning.
D. Shivashankar, president of the SC/ST Government Employees’ Association, criticised the idea. “Donating for cattle adoption scheme is not the duty of government employees. Instead, employees can at least be asked to contribute to the eradication of malnutrition among children, which will contribute to real nation building,” he said.
However, C.S. Shadakshari, president of Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association, said most employees were on board with the idea of donating and only a few associations “which are not recognised” were dissenting. “We will donate for about one lakh cows,” he said.
The scheme aims to care for aged, sick or abandoned cattle or cattle seized by the police or enforcement agencies.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has urged A and B categories of employees to adopt cows, paying an annual fee of ₹11,000. He also wrote to the Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association and requested them to donate.
“Irrespective of the categories, government employees always stand with the government and support and donate during the time of natural calamities. But Punyakoti Dattu Yojane is a government scheme and the government has reserved some funds for this scheme. There is no public interest in this scheme. So, why should we donate?” Mr. Shivashankar questioned. He said this would be raised during the Thursday’s meeting by his association, among others.
