Soon after the dissolution of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, the Rawalpindi livestock department has put a halt to Murghi Paal and Katta Farba schemes in Rawalpindi.
The livestock department said that the poultry and calf farming schemes have been suspended till the order of the new prime minister.
Under the Poultry Scheme, thousands of flocks of domestic and farm chickens and calves were being distributed across Punjab including in the Rawalpindi division.
One set of flocks included five hens and one rooster. After a 30 per cent subsidy, Rs1,050 was being charged for a flock of chickens against the market price of Rs1,500. The government was giving a subsidy of Rs450 per set after the scrutiny of applications.
The Katta Farba programme aimed to stop the genocide of calves and to raise them instead of slaughtering them for meat so that they can be raised for higher prices.
Rewards were also being given to those who grew calves under the Katta Farba scheme.
A senior official of the livestock department speaking on condition of anonymity said that the government's interest in the programme had begun to wane four months ago. He said that due to a lack of funds and non-supply of new chickens, requests of more than 0.1 million applications in Rawalpindi alone could not be processed.
The official said that with the end of the PTI government and the appointment of Shahbaz Sharif as the new prime minister, the implementation of the poultry and calf programmes has been practically stopped.
Top officials of the department believe that Murghi Paal and Katta Farba were schemes of the previous government.
“These schemes will not be implemented until the new government issues a clear policy,” the said adding that a progress report of the schemes will also be sent to the new prime minister.
The officials said that the former prime minister's poultry scheme was very popular among the citizens.
They said that as many as 500,000 chickens had been distributed in the Rawalpindi division till December 31 last year.
There are a total of 10 large government poultry farms in Punjab for procurement of these chickens, whereas last year a total of 300,000 chickens were distributed among 50,000 families during the coronavirus pandemic.
The programme made it possible for urban dwellers to raise chickens, eggs and meat by raising chickens on rooftops.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2022.
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