Number of goats and sheep reduced by 32.40% in Telangana in the last five years despite the sheep distribution programme

BRS government's sheep and goat distribution program faces scrutiny as livestock numbers decrease despite crores spent.

The much-touted sheep and goat distribution programme launched by the previous BRS government seems to have reduced their numbers despite spending hundreds of crores, if the official figures of the livestock census are to be believed.

According to official figures, compared from 2019 to June 30, 2024, there is a decrease of 32.40%. If 23.98 crore heads of sheep and goat were there in 2019, the number reduced to 16.21 crores as on June 30, 2024.

Medchal district saw the highest decline of 60.49% followed by Warangal (60.15%), Sangareddy (53.26%), Medak (50.46%) and Nizamabad (46.38%). BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao’s native district Siddipet also saw a decline of (46.13%) of animals while Karimnagar, which was the bastion of the BRS also saw a decline of 43.44% in the livestock.

Sources in the government claim that the number of goats and sheep have decreased as per the recent livestock census. In 2012, the number of sheep in Telangana was 12,835,761. The number increased to 19,094,836 in 2019, an increase of 48.76%. The latest livestock census puts the number at 12,414,299, which is 34.99% decrease in five years.

The BRS government started the sheep distribution programme in April 2017 to financially strengthen the Golla and Kuruma communities that are dependent on goats and sheep rearing. The government spent ₹5,500 crore of which 25% was the share of the beneficiaries.

In the second phase of the programme, 85,488 beneficiaries paid their 25% contribution and about ₹430 crore is in the accounts of the District Collectors concerned. About 2,20,792 beneficiaries are yet to pay their share.

However, after the Congress government took over an investigation into the distribution revealed a large-scale scam and some officials were also arrested.