Gujarat assembly passes bill against stray cattle in cities

Acknowledging that the stray cattle menace is more serious than one imagines, the Gujarat government on Thursday passed a bill to restrict the keeping and movements of cattle in the state. The new law, with provisions for hefty fines and imprisonment of violators, will come into force in three months in urban areas of the state.

The government said: "Residents in urban areas are grappling with stray cattle menace. Several lives have been lost and many injured due to stray cattle. The menace is more serious than one imagines.

To mitigate the problem, it is considered necessary to restrict keeping and movement of cattle in urban areas." Over the years, the Gujarat high court has taken civic bodies to task for being unable to check the growing menace of stray cattle.

A licence will be mandatory to keep cattle in areas under municipal corporations and municipalities, and these will have to be secured within three months of the Act coming into force. If a person gets licence for a said number of cattle, additional cattle heads will have to be sold or given away in 60 days. Owners will not be allowed to move cattle from one area to another without permission from the local body and cattle can be moved only in vehicles. Movement of cattle to slaughterhouses will be exempt from this clause.

Local authorities may at any time prohibit a particular area for cattle. Licences issued in such areas will stand cancelled, the bill says. Cattle found in prohibited areas will be impounded, the bills said.

Licensed cattle will have to be released within seven days, after which the owner will not be able to get the cattle released and will have to face criminal proceedings.

Civic bodies will have to designate grazing areas where people can sell fodder for cattle. Those selling fodder in areas which have not been designated will be liable for fines or imprisonment or both. Dead cattle will have to be disposed of either through deep burial, incinerators or in a carcass utilization plant.