Times of India: Indore: Wednesday, June 14, 2017.
The action
taken by Indore municipal corporation (IMC) against stray cattle has been
challenged by an NGO before the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court. The
court has issued notices to IMC commissioner, district collector and others,
who have been named as respondents.
The petition
has challenged several aspects of the drive, on the basis of the information
collected through Right to Information Act. The matter was heard on Monday by
the division bench of Justice PK Jaiswal and Justice Prakash Shrivastav, who
accepted the applications for urgent hearing during the summer vacations.
Advocate
Manohar Dalal filed the petition on behalf of the NGO Animal and Bird Welfare
Society. The notices were accepted on behalf of principal secretary of animal
husbandry department of state government by government advocate.
While seeking
primary relief in the petition, Dalal appealed the court to quash the orders
passed by district collector under section 144 of IPC, on the basis of which
the IMC commissioner had initiated the drive against cattle rearers.
The petition
also stated that as per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, each animal
before being transported from one place to another through a vehicle must be
examined by a veterinarian and should be issued a fitness certificate.
The court was
told that cows and buffaloes from the city are being transferred outside its
limits in overcrowded vehicles.
"At
least 15 cows and buffaloes are being transported in vehicles with a capacity
of seven animals. Also, the IMC does not have a record of what happens to
cattle after they are handed over to the tribals in Jhabua," said another
advocate Lokendra Joshi. The RTI application filed by the NGO seeking details
of the number of cows and buffaloes shifted from the city has revealed that 176
animals have been shifted from the city limits to outer regions as a part of
the civic body drive.
The IMC had
initiated the drive against stray cattle in March. Seven teams were formed to
initiate the drive and each team was allotted three zones for the removal
action against stray cattle. IMC had involved 150 employees in the drive.