Context: Recently, The Government of Chhattisgarh announced the launch of ‘Godhan Nyay Yojana’ and the Yojna will commence on the Hareli festival(20 July).
About Godhan Nyay Yojana
- Under this scheme, the Chhattisgarh government will procure cow dung from livestock owners at a fixed procurement rate.
- The procured cow dung will be utilised for the production of vermicompost fertilizer, which will be sold through cooperative societies to meet the fertilizer requirement of the farmers as well as that of the Agriculture, Forest, Horticulture and Urban Administration Department for various plantation campaigns.
- The government will also make arrangements for the marketing of additional organic fertilizer.
- Significance- It will make animal husbandry commercially profitable, prevent open grazing, solve the problem of stray animals on road and will help in environmental conservation.
Similar Initiatives: The government tried to strengthen the rural economy of the state through the ‘Narva, Garuva, Ghuruwa, Badi’ scheme in which cowsheds have been developed in 2,200 villages of the state.
About the Hareli festival
- It is an agrarian festival of Chhatisgarh, observed in Shravan month.
- Farmers celebrate this festival by worshipping farm equipment and other livestock.
- They place branches and leaves of the Bhelwa tree in the fields and pray for a good harvest in the coming season and also hang small Neem branches at the main entrance of their homes to prevent seasonal diseases.
- Walking on bamboo known as Gedi is held during the period and children also participate in the gedi race.