MC Panchkula granted 3 weeks time to reply cattle menance

Ajay Kumar

PANCHKULA, September 5:

The Court of Sh. Kanwal Kumar, ACS (SD) today granted 3 weeks time to the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation and Deputy Commissioner Panchkula to reply and file an action taken report on the stray cattle menace in Panchkula in response to the PIL filed by Advocate Pankaj Chandgothia, after advocate Anil Garg appeared on their behalf and sought time to file reply. The Court also issued urgent DASTI notices to the Chief Secretary Haryana; Director, Urban Local bodies, Haryana and Director General of police Haryana as no counsel appeared on their behalf today, inspite of their having received the notice in the case. Dasti notices have been issued for 26th September, 2018.
In his petition filed under Section 91 of Civil Procedure Code, Chandgothia has termed the stray cattle menace as a public nuisance. He said that the commuting public in Panchkula is in constant danger and risk of meeting with accidents due to various deficiencies and negligence on the part of the defendants, who all are liable to ensure the safety and welfare of the citizens. Stray Cattle are often found sitting or moving in the middle of busy roads, leading to sudden breaking by vehicles, giving rise to the risk of accidents and resultantly injuries and loss of life and also damage to vehicles. This malaise has been highlighted by the print media many times, but the concerned authorities are turning a blind eye to the grave problem.

Chandgothia contended that there is no proper agency nor co-ordination between the various functionaries to strictly deal with the problem of stray cattle menace in the city. A special cell needs to be created with representatives from all concerned department including the administration, municipal council/corporation and police, in order to deal with this problem. The stray cattle must be immediately removed from the streets/roads/public places and a scheme needs to put in place to prevent them from coming on to roads and public spaces, to ensure the safety of the general public.

It is pointed out that the authorities can also take penal action and register FIRs against the guilty persons under Section 268, 283, 289 and 290 and 291 of IPC. In addition, criminal action can also be taken under sections 337 and 338 of IPC.

Chandgothia has also sought a compensation policy wherein the administration should be held liable to compensate any person who suffers on account of the stray cattle menace. The police must register an FIR in every such case.