Gujarat BJP chief CR Patil on Monday said that he has requested CM Bhupendra Patel to cancel the Gujarat Cattle Control (Keeping and Moving) in Urban Areas Bill, 2022, which was passed last week in the state Assembly in a bid to curb the stray cattle menace.
Speaking to the media, Patil said, "I have requested the Chief Minister this morning while leaving for Vadodara to take into account the existing rules and laws, which are sufficient to address the stray cattle problem in municipal corporation areas, so there is no need of a new law.”
"The new law has made the Maldhari (cattle-rearer) community upset. I have received a lot of complaints on WhatsApp. Some leaders had met me yesterday and some have met me today, and some saints are coming to meet me this evening over the same issue. When a community is ready to follow a pre-existing law, I find their representations appropriate. CM Bhupendra Patel has also given a positive response on the whole matter," he said.
After Patil's announcement, Gujarat Maldhari Mahapanchayat member and Congress MLA Raghu Desai said, "We don't know CR Patil. Is he holding any constitutional position in the government? We will continue our agitation till the government informs us in writing that the law has been repealed."
He further said, "Today we have given an application and memorandum to all the district offices and strongly protested across the state. In the coming days, we will also hold a Maldhari Sammelan as this government does not think before making any announcement. There are more than 25 lakh cattle-rearers in the state and 70% of them are poor and illiterate. Keeping cattle is our fundamental right and this bill is a direct attack on it. This bill is a conspiracy to displace us. Alternative arrangements should be considered before any law is enacted. A similar law was introduced in Maharashtra but before that, an alternative arrangement was made for the pastoralists there. The Gujarat government here decides without thinking of end-users. Our community will not tolerate this. We will fight."
Aimed at prohibiting the movement of stray cattle on roads and public places in urban areas of Gujarat, the state Assembly on Friday passed a bill that mandates cattle-rearers to obtain a license to keep such animals in cities and towns and get them tagged, failing which they may face imprisonment. The bill was passed in the House in the wee hours of Friday following a seven-hour-long heated debate on it that had started around 6 pm on Thursday.
Under this law, cattle rearers will be required to acquire a licence from a competent authority to keep their cattle in urban areas, which comprise eight cities, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Junagadh, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar, and 156 towns. Without that licence, no person will be allowed to keep cattle within the city limits. Within 15 days of getting the licence, the owner will be required to get their cattle tagged and refrain from letting the cattle move on roads or any other places in the city.
If the owner fails to get their cattle tagged in 15 days, he will be punished with imprisonment which may extend up to one year or a penalty of Rs 10,000 or both, the bill document said. The sale of fodder for cattle in non-designated areas in cities is also prohibited under the bill. According to the bill, any person who assaults officials or creates hurdles during cattle catching operation will be punished with one year of imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 50,000. In case of seizure of the tagged cattle, the owner will be penalized Rs 5,000 the first time, Rs 10,000 the second time, and Rs 15,000 as well as an FIR for the third time. Cattle without a tag will be seized and shifted to a permanent cattle shed by the authorities and released after taking a fine of Rs 50,000.