Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 22: Division Bench of the State High Court comprising Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Kumar today issued directions to the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu to file status report within four weeks with regard to the request made by Municipal Corporation Jammu for allotment of 100 kanals of State land for establishment of animal shelter/cattle pound for stray animals and animals to be lifted from non-complying dairy units.
The Division Bench also directed Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed to file response to the fresh status report/affidavit filed by Commissioner JMC pursuant to the directions passed on November 16, 2017.
The Division Bench, in the open court, also directed Advocate Sachin Gupta appearing for JMC to keep available the record of allotment of cattle pound situated at Gandhi Nagar, Jammu made in favour of R S Jamwal, Ex-Joint Commissioner Jammu Municipal Corporation on next date of hearing.
These directions were passed in a Public Interest Litigation filed by an NGO (SAVE) through its Chairperson Devinder Kour Madaan alias Rumpy Madaan seeking closure of 59 illegal/ unregistered milk dairies running within the limits of Jammu Municipal Corporation and also for regulating the functioning of existing 57 number of registered dairies as per the existing norms and guidelines issued by JMC under Section 44(n) of Jammu Municipal Corporation Act, 2000.
When the PIL came up for hearing, Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed with Advocates Rahul Raina, Suraj Singh and Supriya Chouhan appearing for the PIL drew the attention of the Division Bench towards the latest status report filed by Commissioner JMC in terms of order dated November 16, 2017 wherein it was stated that JMC received 21 applications from the different dairy owners and all the applications were lacking in one or another fundamental defects and were not qualifying the guidelines notified by Jammu Municipal Corporation vide its public notice dated February, 09, 2016.
The status report further stated that JMC has afforded one more opportunity to all the dairy owners to comply with the requirement of public notice dated February 9, 2016 and a final opportunity of week’s time has been granted to comply with the mandatory registration of the dairies within the municipal limits.
About identification of suitable land for construction of cattle pound, Advocate Ahmed said that Deputy Commissioner vice Communication No. DCJ/SQ/Land-JMC-Dairies/2017-18/3210-12 dated November 14, 2017 issued directions to SDM Jammu North to identify 100 kanals of State land situated at village Keran adjacent to already proposed land measuring 600 Kanals under Khasra No.630, 631 and 632 for Animal Husbandry Department.
“The Jammu Municipal Corporation has illegally/ arbitrarily allotted cattle pound to former Joint Commissioner (Adm) when he was nearing superannuation and space meant for cattles for oblique motives was allotted to him after spending public money on its renovation”, he said and sought appropriate directions to the JMC to produce the entire records of allotment of cattle pound before the Division Bench so that a view is taken by the court.
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