The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet on Friday decided to impose a complete ban on cow slaughter, a promise made by the Bharatiya Janata Party before the elections.
Presided over by the Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, the Cabinet also decided to reinstate thousands of retrenched daily wage earners, wind up the district governments and bring the Narmada water to Bhopal.
Ms. Bharti had announced during her election campaign that once she came to power, a decision would be taken at her very first Cabinet meeting to impose a complete ban on cow slaughter. Similarly, she had emphasised that a decision would also be taken at the meeting to reinstate thousands of daily wage earners appointed after December 31, 1988, clear the Narmada water supply scheme for Bhopal and abandon the system of district governments that had been imposed on the Panchayati Raj system by the Digvijay Singh Government.
The BJP Government has also decided to equip the cow sheds for taking care of sick and ailing cows.
The Cabinet has suspended with immediate
effect the powers given to the district planning boards under the concept
of district governments from 1999. It decided to reinstate the daily wage
earners removed after December 31, 1988. A committee of senior Ministers
has been formed to complete all formalities for the purpose.