CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Friday passed a council resolution mandating cattle owners to obtain licences and microchip their cattle. The move is part of measures to regulate cattle rearing and curb the stray cattle menace in the city. Cattle owners have been asked to submit their licence applications on or before March 18, with the licence fee fixed at Rs 100 per cattle head.
As per the resolution, application forms could be downloaded from the GCC website and submitted to the zonal veterinary officers in the respective zones. Veterinary officials will then conduct field inspections before issuing licences. At the time of licensing, microchips will be implanted in each cattle to digitally record ownership details, including the owner’s name, address, and the cattle’s details. GCC has procured 25,000 microchips and 25 microchip readers now.
Earlier, the corporation had deployed cattle-catching vehicles and imposed a fine of `10,000 on cattle owners whose animals were found roaming on the streets and caught by the GCC staff.
The GCC also has modern cattle sheds in Thiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Royapuram, Anna Nagar, and Teynampet zones. The resolution also said that similar sheds are under construction in other zones.
For the past five years, a total of 16,921 cattle were caught while roaming on the streets with a total of Rs 4.5 crore fine being collected from the owners between this period. During 2024 and 2025 alone, a total of 4,237 cattle were seized, and collected a fine of Rs 2.22 crore. The council also approved the delegation of powers to the veterinary department, which is under the GCC’s health department, authorising it to invite tenders for projects worth up to Rs 9.9 lakh. Tenders exceeding Rs 10 lakh will require approval from the joint commissioner (health).