Guwahati: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has announced a statewide protest on July 4, alleging massive irregularities in the procurement and distribution of Gir cows under the Garukhuti Multipurpose Agricultural Project in Assam.
CPI(M) state secretary Suprakash Talukdar addressed the media at the party’s state office on Wednesday and accused the Assam government of financial misconduct.
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He demanded a time-bound judicial inquiry by a sitting or retired judge to investigate the alleged scam.
CPI(M) central committee member Isfaqur Rahman and state secretariat members Nayan Bhuyan and Nirangkush Nath joined Talukdar at the press conference.
The leaders presented a series of contradictions in figures and data obtained from RTI replies, official records, Assembly proceedings, and media reports.
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They claimed the information surrounding the number of Gir cows imported, distributed, and reported dead was chaotic and inconsistent.
According to the party, the Assam government signed an MoU to bring Gir cows to the state on January 7, 2022, in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Parshottam Rupala.
The plan aimed to import 15,000 Gir cows, with 5,000 earmarked for the Garukhuti project.
However, RTI documents revealed conflicting numbers: one reply indicated that 98 cows arrived in November 2021, while another claimed only 24 cows and a bull arrived in January 2022.
Agriculture Minister Atul Bora informed the Assembly in March 2023 that the government had purchased 122 Gir cows in November–December 2021, and the number increased to 176 due to births.
Records from February 2024 showed that the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) had supplied 300 cows, and officials brought 210 of them to the project site in April 2023.
The CPI(M) further alleged that elected representatives distributed 90 cows to farmers, and 56 of those cows later died.
The party pointed out further contradictions in the Governor’s 2022 budget speech and media coverage, which mentioned only 108 cows as of November 2021.
Recently, project officer Yugabrata Nath reportedly said the site currently has 210 Gir cows, including 130 calves.
Alongside the demand for a judicial probe into the Gir cow controversy, CPI(M) called for the removal of Cabinet Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah.
The party raised suspicions about an alleged disproportionate rise in income at a farm owned by the minister’s wife, from Rs 1.19 lakh in 2020 to Rs 77 lakh, suggesting the farm might be used for laundering black money, possibly linked to Jal Jeevan Mission funds.