MC framing bylaws to stop cattle rearing

According to an MC survey, there are 550 cattle owners who are rearing milch cattle. Rearing of cattle is already not allowed in the sectors and colonies. There are some villages where cattle are being reared and even in colonies, many residents have kept them.

The new bylaws are likely to ensure that cattle are not allowed even in the villages and vllagers who are rearing cattle would be asked to take the animals out of the municipal limits.

Mayor Anu Chatrath said that at certain places like Dhanas where cattle rearing is done, the majority of residents have to suffer due to the activities of a few. “There have been many complaints from residents of the area about the problems they face at places where cattle are kept. The conditions are unhygienic. The civic body is in the process of framing by-laws that would prohibit keeping cattle in the municipal limits. Cattle would have to be sent out of the city’s boundaries,” she said categorically.

The problem of stray cattle has been present for a long time, especially in sectors that share their boundary with Punjab and Haryana. At night the cattle are let loose and create problems for the commuters. There have been instances where cattle roaming on the roads at night have led to accidents. 

While the problem of stray cattle has persisted, the Municipal Corporation has been taking refuge in the fact that the facilities to control the menace are inadequate. The MC cattle pound has the capacity to accommodate 150 animals while the Gaushala in Sector 45 has a capacity of 350. The Gaushala in Maloya can accommodate 550 animals.

Civic body officials said that owners of cattle that are found straying either pay a fine or face auctioning of the animals. However, the facilities for catching cattle are inadequate. Now, for a long-term solution to the problem, the new by-laws are in the process of being framed. Once they are completed, these would be placed in the MC House.