Haryana raises incentive for Murrah buffalo owners

Chandigarh, Aug 17 (UNI) The Haryana government has announced a substantial increase in the annual cash incentive to the owners of high-yielding Murrah buffaloes for the conservation and upgradation of this breed of buffaloes in the state.

Announcing this here today, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the cash incentive for buffaloes yielding 11 kg to 15 kg of milk per animal per day (PAPD) had been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000.

For the category yielding 16 kg to 20 kg of milk PAPD, the incentive had been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 and for the category above 20 kg PAPD, the cash incentive had been raised from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000.

Similarly, the minimum support price of Rs 5,000, which was given for the purchase of male calf between the age of 12 to 18 months from such animals, had also been fixed as Rs 3,000, Rs 6000 and Rs 10,000 for the first, second and third category respectively.

The Chief Minister said the annual financial allocation for the Scheme of Integrated Murrah Development', would likely to be revised from Rs one crore to Rs five crore from the current financial year.

The scheme envisages identification of high-yielding Murrah buffaloes and the purchase, rearing and marketing of male calves.

Major emphasis would be laid on 'in situ' preservation of Murrah germplasm by recording large number of top quality animals so as to meet the demand of not only of the state but also other parts of the country, he added.

Mr Hooda also announced the re-constitution of the committees up to sub-division level for the identification of 30,000 quality Murrah buffaloes during the current financial year.

UNI