The Assam Cabinet has approved a bill for protecting cattle , the State’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika said on Thursday.
The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021, will be placed before the State Assembly in the upcoming session. It seeks to replace the existing The Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950, that allows the slaughter of cattle above 14 years of age with proper approval by local veterinary officers.
“Our government had made a commitment on bringing a cow protection bill. The Cabinet has accordingly approved the introduction of the bill in the Assembly,” Mr Hazarika said.
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Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said in June that the proposed legislation would ban the movement of cattle to and from the State, primarily to check smuggling to Bangladesh. He had also told the Assembly that beef should not be consumed in areas where Hindus live and where the animal is worshipped.
Three other States — Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh — have legislations to protect cows.
The Cabinet also approved making Gurkhas residing in four districts of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) before 2003 a protected class in the Tribal Belts and Blocks. The BTR came under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in 2003.
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A similar status for the Gurkhas has been approved in eastern Assam’s Sadiya Tribal Belt along with the Moran, Matak, Ahom and Chutia communities.