Stray Cattle infestation and remedies

- Lokabhimukha Guidance - H.S. Patel IAS (Retd.)

- It is necessary to enact a comprehensive law for stray cattle

Now-a-days most public safety wise no pedestrians, citizens moving on public roads are safe and all publicity/broadcasting media are broadcasting death/accidents caused by stray cattle. But due to the lack of concrete action by the rulers and administration in this matter, the menace of stray cattle continues. Instructions / Orders are issued by the High Court from time to time. But lack of long-term implemented policy does not lead to permanent solutions. I have been receiving suggestions from many readers of this column that what is the root cause of the stray cattle problem and what permanent solutions can be brought to the attention of the general public and what can be done by the rulers to guide them.

First of all, from a social/economic perspective, the Cattle Trespass Act-1882 enacted during the British rule is still in existence today. The background to the enactment of this law is that our agrarian occupation is largely dominated by animal husbandry as a supplementary occupation to agriculture and cattle encroachment as part of preventing large-scale encroachment on 'agricultural land' i.e. grazing (unauthorized grazing) of agricultural crops by cattle. The Act was enacted which at that time made the District Magistrate and Collector and the Police responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this Act. The police system was responsible for handling and catching cattle bins. After independence, this responsibility was given to the bodies of local self-governance with the introduction of Gram Panchayats/Municipalities/Mahanagar Palikas as self-governing bodies. These Acts only provide for the rights to maintain cattle sheds and levy administrative charges as part of consumption along with general fines. There is a provision to release the caught cattle if the herdsman pays a fine of less than normal amount. There is no provision for local authorities to take heavy punitive action against cattle owners under this Act and there is no effectiveness as there is an element of political interference in these self-governing bodies as elected representatives. With such background, it is understandable that the Trespass Act enacted in 1882 is not effective in the current times, so the only solution is that the rulers have to formulate an effective law according to the existing circumstances and situation.

Now looking at the other side of the menace of stray cattle, this problem has become acute with the spread of urbanization. With the massive migration from villages to cities, the agricultural land of the revenue villages has been converted into non-agricultural constructions. On the other hand, the livestock owners who were cattle rearing with cattle farming in the village or limited herdsman families, instead of the large number of herdsmen/maldhari from the rural areas also got higher prices of milk in the cities and migrated to them as part of the business, the cattle owners as well as persons associated with this business sector have submitted that the cowherd There is construction / encroachment on grazing land. According to the provisions of the Revenue Department / Panchayat Act of the Government of Gujarat, the gauchar land given to the Gram Panchayat by the concerned village only as part of management and on this land the cattle of Tej village who were the original owners of that village have the right to graze their cattle. It is now argued that there is no grazing in the cattle population because there is not enough grazing available in the cattle population of the migrating herdsmen. The administration does not have the will to remove the pressures that have been placed on Biju or Gauchar lands and most of the pressures on these lands are also from certain communities. Despite repeated orders by the Supreme Court / Gujarat High Court and the introduction of the Land Grabbing Act, the pressure on Gauchar lands or lands designated for public purposes has not been relieved. If exemplary action is taken under the Land Grabbing Act, an atmosphere of fear will be created among the oppressors or the government system will feel, but there seems to be indifference in that direction.

Now cattle herders are told to manage the gauchar lands and cattle as a right, if we look at the original perspective, farmers/herdsmen in the village used to keep milch cattle for milk, curd, ghee for their own use, now cattle herders do milk business in a professional manner. That is, commercial purpose is associated with livelihood. In the constitution, every citizen is allowed to do business. No one gets the right to let cattle roam and destroy people's lives, including death. Every herdsman can carry on business by keeping cattle in his cattle shed/stable and even if the traditional herdsman's business is socially and economically encouraged even where it is not necessary to earmark land for cowsheds in or near the city. When Amo was the Municipal Commissioner of Vadodara, decisions were taken to set up Cattle Colonies all around Vadodara (Khatamba) but in Khatamba till date no one went under any pretext. During our tenure, it was proposed to the state government to enact a law on the same lines as the one enacted for stray cattle and herdsmen in urban areas in the state of Maharashtra.

The Urban Development Department of the State Government, taking into account the frequent directives of the Gujarat High Court and the situation of stray cattle, the State Government enacted the Cattle Control and Encroachment Act and the State Legislative Assembly also passed the Act, but based on the submissions of cattle rearers/stockholders, this Act was repealed instead of being debated and amended. is