Ahmedabad, Apr 7 (PTI) Amid protests by members of the Maldhari community, the Gujarat government has decided not to implement the bill passed by the state Assembly to tackle the stray cattle menace in urban areas, state Minister Jitu Vaghani said on Thursday.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel decided to keep the bill in abeyance after meeting a delegation of Maldhari or cattle rearer community, led by former MLAs Ranchhod Desai and Bhawan Bharwad.
“The chief minister and Urban Development Minister Vinu Moradiya held a meeting with leaders of the Maldhari community over the issue. The chief minister gave an assurance that the BJP government will not implement the bill,” Vaghani told reporters in Gandhinagar.
The Gujarat Cattle Control (Keeping and Moving) In Urban Areas Bill, which was passed in the recently held Budget session of the Assembly, requires cattle rearers to obtain a licence to keep livestock in cities and towns, failing which they may face imprisonment.
Unhappy with the announcement, the Gujarat Congress demanded that a special session of the Assembly be held to permanently scrap or withdraw the bill.
“Only the Assembly has the right to scrap or withdraw an already passed bill. Hence, we demand that instead of just putting the bill in abeyance, the BJP government should call a one-day Assembly session to scrap or withdraw it,” Deputy Leader of Opposition Shaikesh Parmar said.
Since the passage of the bill, members of the cattle rearer community have been up in arms against the BJP government in the state, launching a protest and submitting memorandums for its withdrawal.
Notably, Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil had earlier said that he had requested the chief minister to reconsider the bill, as the existing rules to control cattle menace in municipal corporation areas were sufficient and there was no need for a new law.
The bill was passed in the early hours of April 1 after a seven-hour heated debate that started around 6 pm, with the Congress vehemently opposing it and threatening to launch a statewide stir.
As per the bill, a cattle rearer will be required to obtain a licence from a competent authority to keep cattle in eight cities and 156 towns of Gujarat, and the cattle will have to be tagged within 15 days of obtaining such licence.
The bill stipulates that if an owner fails to tag his cattle within 15 days, he will be punished with imprisonment, which may extend up to a year or a penalty of Rs 10,000 or both.
On the seizure of tagged cattle, its owner will be fined Rs 5,000 for the first time, Rs 10,000 for the second time, and Rs 10,000 and an FIR for the third time, the bill states. PTI PJT ARU ARU
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Source: The Print
