Nandi Gaushala Jan Sahbhagita Yojana (Nandi Shala Yojana), Rajasthan

What is Nandi Shala Yojana in Rajasthan?

Nandi Shala Yojana is the working name for Nandi Gaushala Jan Sahbhagita Yojana (नन्दी गौशाला जनसहभागिता योजना), a scheme of the Directorate of Gopalan, Government of Rajasthan. A "Nandi" is a male bovine, and a Nandishala is a shelter built specifically for male cattle. The animals most often abandoned once they are no longer useful for milk or for draught work, and the animals most often found straying on roads and in standing crops.

According to the Directorate of Gopalan's own scheme description, the purpose is to maintain the destitute and stray cattle of the district, and the scheme provides for up to Rs 45 lakh per Nandi gaushala for the construction of permanent basic assets. The scheme was started in 2018-19 and the funding ratio is recorded as 0 centre to 100 state; every rupee of the government share comes from the Rajasthan budget.

The word Jan Sahbhagita, public participation, is the operating principle. The state does not fund the shelter fully. It funds 90 percent, and the institution running the shelter puts in 10 percent from its own resources. That contribution is not a formality; it is tendered as a demand draft or bank cheque in favour of the executing agency before construction starts.

Who is eligible for a Nandishala grant, and who is not?

The following institutions can apply:

• Registered gaushalas
• Kanji houses (the traditional municipal cattle pounds)
• Local bodies, municipalities and municipal councils
• Panchayati raj institutions, gram panchayats and panchayat samitis
• Other institutions approved by the Directorate of Gopalan

Two hard conditions apply to the applicant institution:

1. It must own at least 25 bigha of land.
2. It must be maintaining at least 500 head of cattle.

The following cannot apply or are not eligible:

• An individual cattle owner, dairy farmer or private livestock business. This is an institutional grant for a public shelter, not a subsidy for private animals.
• An unregistered gaushala. Registration is the first filter.
• An institution that does not meet the 25 bigha land test, whether by ownership or by a lease sanctioned by the competent authority.
• An institution holding fewer than 500 cattle, since the shelter is sized for that scale.
• An institution against which a case of financial irregularity or embezzlement is pending. The Directorate applies this bar across its gaushala schemes.

How much does the Nandishala scheme pay, and for what?

The grant is capped at Rs 45 lakh per Nandishala and is meant for permanent basic assets, the sheds, boundary walls, water arrangements, feeding troughs and similar fixed infrastructure that a shelter needs to hold several hundred animals through a Rajasthan summer.

The split is fixed:

The grant is a construction grant, not a running-cost grant. Money for feed and water comes through a separate route described below, and the two should not be confused when an institution plans its finances.

How to apply for the Nandi Shala Yojana

1. Confirm that your institution is registered and that it meets both tests, 25 bigha of land and 500 head of cattle. Applications that fail either test are rejected at scrutiny.
2. Collect the guidelines published on the Directorate of Gopalan website, gopalan.rajasthan.gov.in, which set out the document list for the current round.
3. Obtain the registration certificate, governing body list and constitution of the institution, and the land documents showing ownership or a competent lease.
4. Get a sanction letter from the executing agency, the gram panchayat, panchayat samiti, municipality, municipal council or agricultural marketing board that will carry out the construction.
5. Arrange the institution's 10 percent share as a demand draft or bank cheque in favour of that executing agency.
6. Submit the complete application at the office of the district Joint Director, Animal Husbandry Department. This is both the office that issues the application form and the office that receives it.
7. Track the file through the district Joint Director's office; sanctions are issued by the Directorate of Gopalan, Jaipur.

Other Gopalan schemes are filed online through the Gopalan web application at gopalanapp.rajasthan.gov.in, and an institution already registered there will find its master data reused across filings.

What separate assistance does a Nandishala get for feed?

Construction is one thing; feeding several hundred bullocks every day is another. The Directorate of Gopalan runs a distinct grant-in-aid to gaushalas under the Gau Sanrakshan evam Samvardhan Nidhi rules, 2016, as amended in 2021. Under those rules:

• Eligible registered gaushalas get Rs 50 per day for a large animal and Rs 25 per day for a small animal, towards fodder and water.
• The assistance runs for a maximum of 270 days.
• An additional 90 days is provided as a special phase for handicapped and disabled cattle in gaushalas and for male cattle maintained in Nandishalas.
• The gaushala must have been registered for at least one year, must maintain at least 100 head of cattle, and must have been running regularly for a year.
• A district level Nandishala must maintain 500 male cattle. A panchayat samiti Nandishala becomes eligible after construction is complete and it is maintaining 250 male cattle.

Applications for the feed grant are filed online at gopalanapp.rajasthan.gov.in, and the papers to attach are the audit report, utilisation certificate, the Prapatra-5 Excel sheet and a copy of the last page of the Prapatra-5 register.

How does this differ from Gaushala Vikas Yojana?

The Directorate of Gopalan runs a smaller parallel construction scheme, Gaushala Vikas Jan Sahbhagita Yojana, and the two are easy to mix up. The differences are worth stating clearly:

Gaushala Vikas Yojana also carries an explicit preference: it targets registered gaushalas that have not received government grant from any source, are not financially strong, and demonstrate a commitment to becoming self-reliant.

Common reasons a Nandishala application fails

• Land falls short of 25 bigha, or the lease is not sanctioned by the competent authority.
• Cattle count below the threshold on the day of verification.
• No executing agency sanction letter, so there is no agency to receive the 10 percent draft and carry out the work.
• The 10 percent contribution is not deposited before construction is approved.
• A financial irregularity case is pending against the institution.
• Incomplete registration papers, the certificate without the governing body list and constitution.

Help and grievance route

• Directorate of Gopalan, Jaipur. The sanctioning authority.
• District Joint Director, Animal Husbandry Department. The office that receives applications and the first point of contact for a pending file.
• Directorate website: gopalan.rajasthan.gov.in, where the scheme guidelines and document lists are published.
• Online filing for Gopalan schemes: gopalanapp.rajasthan.gov.in

There is no fee for applying. An institution asked for a payment to move a Nandishala file should raise it directly with the Directorate of Gopalan.