Aparna Yadav’s NGO Received 86% of Cow Welfare Funds during SP regime, reveals RTI

Lucknow: An NGO run by Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Prateek Yadav and his wife Aparna Yadav allegedly received 86 percent of funds sanctioned for cow welfare during the tenure of the previous SP government.

Following an RTI query by Nutan Thakur, it was found out that during the tenure of Akhilesh Yadav as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Gau Seva Aayog gave 86% of the total grant in the name of Gau Seva and Gau Raksha to NGO Jeev Ashray, which is run by Prateek and Aparna.

Jeev Ashray runs ‘Kanha Upvan’, a shelter for stray and sick animals on the outskirts of Lucknow, near Amausi Airport. Soon after taking the oath of the Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath had also paid a visit to Kanha Upvan along with Aparna and Prateek on March 31st 2017 along with Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma.

The Aayog comes under the state Animal Husbandry department and gives funds to guashalas and organisations working for the welfare of cows.

In the reply, the Aayog's Public Information Officer Sanjay Yadav said that a grant of Rs 9.66 crore was given to the gaushalas in five years, from 2012 to 2017. Out of this, Rs 8.35 crore alone was given to Jeev Ashray, which is 86.4% of the total grant. Not only this, Jeev Ashray was the only NGO which got grants in the financial year 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, which was to Rs50 lakh, Rs1.25 crore and Rs 1.41 crore, respectively.

In the financial year 2015-16, Jeev Ashray was given a grant of 2.58 crore, while Sripad Baba Gaushala Vrindavan got Rs 41 lakh. While in the financial year 2016-17, out of the total grant of Rs 3.45 crore, Jeev Ashray alone got 2.55 crore. The rest was shared by four institutions, with the next highest grant being Rs 63 lakh was given to Sripad Baba Gaushala.

In the current financial year 2017-18, a grant of Rs 1.05 crore has been given so far, but it did not include Jeev Ashray. Maximum grant of Rs 63 lakh has been given to Dayodaya Gaushala, Lalitpur.

Nutan Thakur is the wife of IPS officer Amitabh Thakur who had a running feud with the Samajwadi Party's first family. She alleged that Jeev Ashray cornering a majority of the funds is a clear indication of favouritism and nepotism.

Aparna Yadav was not immediately available for comment.