The Hindu              30.11.2013 

Answer all calls: Corpn. to officials

Staff Reporter

The Chennai Corporation has instructed all its officials to answer residents’ calls on their official mobile phones.

According to a press release, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has directed the Coporation to ensure quick response to civic issues reported by residents. The civic body has already shared mobile phone numbers of its officials, including chief engineers and superintending engineers, online. Ward and zonal offices too have displayed mobile numbers of various officials.  

If an official is unable to take calls from residents, the resident will receive a call later that will initiate steps towards the resolution of the issue. Residents can also continue to use helpline 1913 to seek redressal of civic issues.

The Hindu              30.11.2013 

Civic agencies in Chennai told to act against illegal slaughtering

R. Sivaraman

The National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench, on Thursday, directed the Chennai Corporation and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to take immediate action to stop illegal slaughtering in the city.

The Bench passed the interim order on an application filed by People for Cattle in India represented by its trustee, G. Arun Prasanna, who sought to ban illegal slaughterhouses.

TNPCB

In his application, Mr. Prasanna listed around 20 places in the city where illegal slaughtering took place. In someareas of the city, the illegal activity had been taking place adjacent to meat shops. Such acts caused severe damage tothe environment, he said.

Infected cattle

“The entire act of slaughtering affects the environment as it is happening in places which are not approved and which neither have proper waste treatment plants nor freezer facilities. Such places are unhygienic and slaughtering of infected cattle was done without knowledge,” he said.

The animal welfare organisation said the authorities had been careless and negligent, failing to take any kind of action to avert damage caused due to illegal slaughtering.When the matter came up for hearing before the Bench on Thursday, Kaushik Narain Sharma, counsel for the applicant, requested the Tribunal to pass an interim order to ban illegal slaughterhouses.

Activists

He also said, activists had found, as per a recent survey, illegal slaughtering was happening in 55 places in the city.

The Bench, comprising its judicial member, Justice M. Chockalingam, and expert member, R. Nagendran, said, “There is no impediment felt by the Tribunal to issue direction to the Chennai Corporation and TNPCB to take immediate action and also steps to stop illegal slaughtering in the city of Chennai.”

Stressing that punitive action must be initiated against the violators, the Bench directed the authorities of the Corporationand TNPCB to file reports in the next hearing on December 12.

The animal welfare activist also argued that as per information provided by the district environmental engineer (DEE), Chennai, the Corporation’s slaughterhouses in Saidapet, Villivakkam and Pulianthope were illegal. The DEE had issued show-cause notices to them.

Corporation slaughterhouses in Saidapet, Villivakkam and Pulianthope were found to be illegal