23 cattle camps shut down for irregularities8217;

The camps which have been ordered to close down had the sanction for maintaining 14,834 cattle. During the checking only half the number of cattle were found there, although subsidy had been claimed for the total number. 8220;We now plan to check the remaining 252 cattle camps,8221; a revenue official said on Thursday.

The organisations running cattle campshave reacted by forming an association. Its leaders met District Collector Kamal Dayani and protested against the raids8217;, but Dayani refused to withdraw his order. 8220;You can approach anyone you wish,8221; Dayani reportedly told the association leaders when they threatened to take up the matter with the government authorities in Gandhinagar.

Administration sources said while cancellation was ordered in cases where the number of cattle was found to be less than the figure shown in the registration documents, show-cause notices were issued to camps which did not have sheds for cattle, were not maintaining proper accounts and where the animals were underfed. It was found that a cattle camp in Banni, which had a sanction for 1,000 cattle, did not have a single animal.

The Administration had sanctioned 285 cattle camps, of which nine were never started at all, while one eas closed down by the organiser himself when he detected irregularities. In the last two months, the government has paid Rs 1.5 crore assubsidy to the voluntary agencies running the camps.

Former district BJP president and ex-MLA Tarachand Chheda, who runs the district8217;s premier service organisation Sava Sangh8217;, which has 6,000 cattle at its camps and Niran Kendras feeding centres, is furious that his organisation should be clubbed with the others. Chheda alleges that the system of counting cattle was faulty. 8220;The sanctioned figure of cattle should not be taken into account. Only the number of cattle for which subsidy has been paid should be considered. One can be a defaulter only if there are fewer than the number of cattle for which one has taken the subsidy,8221; Chheda argued, saying he had decided to close down all his 28 cattle camps and run only Niran Kendras without any financial aid from the government.

The Administration denies Chheda8217;s charge. An official said a cattle camp run by Chheda at Amapur village in Bachau taluka had permission for 1,000 cattle, his organisation was paid subsidy for 618 cattle on May 15, but only 290 cattle were actually found the next day. 8220;Under the circumstances, we had no other option but to cancel the permission for his cattle camp,8221; the official said.