How villagers are creating capital out of cow dung in Chhattisgarh

Guarding cow dung may not look like a full-time job but Mantu Ram Kashyap and his wife Meera are doing just that with full dedication.

Residents of the sleepy Kutru village, tucked away in Chhattisgarh’s restive Bijapur district, Kashyap and his wife work in shifts during the night to keep an eye on the dung, so that it’s not stolen. The waste from his cattle is after all wealth for Kashyap.

The Chhattisgarh government, led by Bhupesh Baghel, started procuring cow dung under its ambitious Godhan Nyay Yojana launched in 2020.

For the first time in the country and also the world, the state government is purchasing cow dung by paying sellers Rs 2 for a kg. The scheme has made cow dung precious in Chhattisgarh, making it necessary for a beneficiary to keep it in “safe cstody”, just like Kashyap has been doing. And, the effort has been paying Kashyap dividends.

By selling 14,000 kg of dung since the scheme’s inception, Kashyap has earned Rs 28,000.

With the money, he had repaired his house. During the rain, the couple could not sleep due to seepage from the ceiling.

Besides Kashyap, 211,450 cattle owners and villagers are reaping benefits from the scheme. The state government has assigned 8,408 Gothans (cow sheds) in the state to purchase cow dung. Gothans have been built in every panchayat. In all, 10,624 Gothans have been sanctioned across the state. The committee formed at the local level and the self-help groups (SHGs) are managing the affairs.

As of now, the Chhattisgarh government has purchased 7.35 million quintals of cow dung, paying Rs 147.06 crore to the committees and strengthening the rural economy of the state.

The payment is transferred to the bank accounts of the sellers.