The Gujarat High Court rapped the state Goverment and the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) for its failure in framing and implementing policies or guidelines to control cattle menace, The High Court directed the state “to frame a policy or issue administrative directions crystallising the steps which are to be taken to control the cattle menace in the entire state.”
The bench of Justices A S Supehia and M R Mengedey issued the direction in a contempt petition that has been highlighting the non-compliance of HC-issued orders and directions in a public interest litigation of 2017 with respect to maintaining traffic and road conditions, and controlling cattle menace.
The municipal corporation informed the bench Tuesday that though the civic body was considering a policy for controlling cattle nuisance, it was not approved and was returned by the standing committee to the municipal commissioner for reconsideration in April. The bench was, however, unimpressed by this submission, enquiring orally whether the executive committee has not applied its mind for three months since the policy proposal was returned and further remarking that does the AMC not realise that a policy is the need of the hour.
Justice Supehia pulled up the state for its inaction for so long despite continued deaths and accidents due to stray cattle attacks.