Liquor surcharge in name of cow protection

The Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan loves imposing a surcharge in the name of cow protection.

Recently the state government had hiked stamp duty from 10 per cent to 20 per cent in the name of bovine protection. Now, it has introduced a 20 per cent surcharge on liquor, the proceeds of which will be used for protection of cows in the state, an official said on Sunday.

Result: liquor will now cost more in the State, which may be a blessing from a therapeutic standpoint, if it serves as a deterrent for tipplers. Also, it is heartening to know that every swig of your ‘poison’ is going to keep the cows healthy in Rajasthan. Also you will be less guilt ridden after a hangover, because all the money is going towards subsidizing cow cover.

Rajasthan goes to elections later this year and cow conservation and wellbeing are a focus area for the BJP. Ironically, the state government was constrained to take the step after the Centre slashed approximately 90% of the grants for cows in Rajasthan from its disaster relief fund.

The cost of conservation has also gone up as thousands of cows have been rescued from smugglers and slaughterhouses. Rajasthan has 2,562 registered cow shelters and 9.6 lakh bovines for which Rs 490 crore is required as grant for six months. The government intends to distribute the grant among cow shelters before the assembly election.

State Congress president Sachin Pilot, however, is convinced that the BJP government has deftly mixed politics in the name of cow with business. However, by doing so it is putting a heavy tax burden on public.

"There was already 10 per cent tax on stamp duty for cow protection. What else is required? The cess on liquor is just to appease a section of society and burden the taxpayers," he added.

The state government is also considering doubling the surcharge on stamp duty for protection of cows from the existing 10% to 20%.