‘Stealing from cattle’: Congress alleges ‘Gauchar land’ corruption under BJP rule

Alleging massive corruption linked to “Gauchar land” meant for grazing cattle in Gujarat, the state unit of Congress Tuesday said five crore square metres have been usurped during the BJP rule, and over 3,000 villages do not have the land meant for the purpose.

“In every district in the state, the quantum of Gauchar land has decreased during the three-decade-long rule of BJP. The rule says that if there are 100 cows, 40 acres of Gauchar land should be provided. But currently, of the total 18,000 villages in the state, there is no Gauchar land left in 3,000 villages. In 9,000 villages, the quantum of land is less than what the rules state,” said Amit Chavda, Congress Legislative Party Leader in Gujarat Assembly.

“Where will the cattle go to graze? They are forced to come on the roads. The industrialists and those associated with BJP are encroaching upon the Gauchar and they are stealing from the cattle,” Chavda told reporters at Gandhinagar.

“For any encroachment on government land, bulldozers are sent overnight. But for such encroachments, the state government is helpless as it is their own associates who are involved. In Gujarat, The maximum encroachment has happened in Rajkot where 1.75 crore square meter of gauchar has been usurped. Around 13.35 lakh square meter in Ahmedabad, one lakh square meters in Surat and 49.96 lakh sq m of land in Bhavnagar has been encroached,” he added.

The BJP is yet to respond to the claims.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/stealing-from-cattle-congress-alleges-gauchar-land-corruption-under-bjp-rule-8828651/