New Delhi, Mar 20: Delhi High Court has directed the Municipal Commissioner to personally explain within a week why the menace of stray cattle continued to plague the national capital despite court orders in this regard as far back as December 2002. Expressing displeasure over the tardy progress, a division bench comprising Chief Justice B C Patel and justice B D Ahmed also directed the authorities to take all steps, including disconnection of essential services, to weed out unauthorised dairies from the city, which were the main source of the bovine menace on the streets. The judges were not happy with the measures taken to rid the streets of stray cattle and the corporation's reply that about 29,000 of the 35,000 such cows in Delhi had been rounded up so far. Earlier this month the High Court had directed the civic and local authorities in the capital to file an action taken report on the steps taken to rid the city of the menace.
The division bench ordered the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the new Delhi Metropolitan Council, the Delhi Cantonment Board and the Delhi government to file reports within a week, while calling for the personal appearance of MCD commissioner, which was entrusted the bulk of the work if the corporation was unable to file its report. On April 25, 2003, the court had directed the Delhi government and the civic agencies to clear the city of stray cattle within a year failing which coercive action could be initiated against them.
Saying that they were being given one last chance, the division bench had ordered the state government, the MCD commissioner, the NDMC chairman and the DCB chief executive to convene a meeting within 15 days and prepare a time-bound action plan. The Court was to be informed of the plan by May 23 last otherwise the authorities could be liable for contempt of court, the judges had said. Bureau Report