Buffaloes On Paper, Cream In Power: Scheme Meant For Tribals Milks The System

You've heard of the fodder scam. Welcome to the buffalo scam - a story where government-funded buffaloes are more self-aware than the system they were born into.

In Madhya Pradesh's tribal heartland, two buffaloes worth Rs 2.43 lakh each were handed over to Sahariya, Baiga, and Bharia tribal families under the "Mukhyamantri Dudhdharu Pashu Praday Yojana" - a scheme designed to boost self-reliance through dairy farming. The cost to the tribal beneficiaries? A mere Rs 24,300 - thanks to a 90 per cent subsidy from the government. The benefit? Well, on paper - plenty. On ground? Depends whose ground you're looking at.

Because as NDTV found during its investigation - these buffaloes, instead of producing milk in tribal courtyards, are loyally munching fodder and letting down creamy yields in the private enclosures of local strongmen.

At first glance, the scheme sounds brilliant. Provide poor tribal families with high-yielding dairy animals. Offer training. Generate income. Uplift the marginalised.

Only, someone forgot to tell the buffaloes - or rather, their "handlers."

In village after village in Shivpuri, NDTV found buffaloes sanctioned in the names of tribal women, tied instead in the backyards of powerful individuals. In some cases, these animals were already sold off.

In Kota Panchayat, we met the daughters-in-law of Kusumla Adivasi. When asked about the buffaloes, the responses came with nervous laughter and diplomatic evasiveness - the kind you'd expect when being questioned about a classified national secret. "There's one buffalo here... the other might be grazing... somewhere... maybe," one said, smiling awkwardly. "Only mummy would know," added another. The way they dodged the buffalo question, it almost felt like the animals were running an underground resistance movement.

Further down in Kakar village, we met Jasvir Adivasi - whose name proudly sits in the beneficiary list. "Yes, I got two buffaloes," he told us. "They're on the farm."

Which farm?

"Sardar ji's farm."

Apparently, that's where buffaloes feel most "at home." As for Jasvir - he doesn't even have space to keep them. "No fridge either," he added, as if to emphasise that buffaloes wouldn't survive in his house, even if they tried.

So essentially: Buffalo: Government-owned, Signature: Tribal, Milk and Cream: Influencer-approved.

The scheme covers over 14 districts, with 29.18 crores earmarked. Each beneficiary is entitled to two animals. The cost-sharing model ensures minimal burden: just 10 per cent from the tribal, the rest from the state. Training, insurance, and even milk route support is promised.

But in practice, the ground reality has taken a different route.

NDTV found over 60 cases in just two villages, where either one or both buffaloes were missing from the rightful owner's home. Some were found in the houses of sarpanches, others with local power brokers. In most cases, tribals had only signed papers - often not even knowing what they signed - while the "real" owners deposited the money and kept the animals.

After NDTV reached out, the Animal Husbandry Department promptly formed an inquiry committee. "Investigation is underway. Wherever wrongdoing is found, action will be taken," said Dr BP Yadav, Joint Director. "Earlier too, we had flagged cases. Warnings were issued," added Dr LR Sharma, Assistant Director, Shivpuri.

The scheme's stated aim was to make tribals self-reliant. But who's really becoming self-reliant? The tribal, or the buffalo that now apparently chooses whose courtyard it prefers?

As one villager quipped, "Government schemes might be for us, but the milk is definitely going somewhere else."

With Inputs from Atul Gaur