Plea admitted in HC for pension to cows

Plea admitted in HC for pension to cows
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NOV 21: A writ plea has been admitted in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the government to provide pension to bullocks used by municipalities, corporations and panchayats that grow old and become unfit for work.

The public interest writ petition filed by M Shantilal Jain of Jermiah Road also seeks to restrain the local bodies from auctioning off old cows, bullocks and buffaloes.

A bench comprising Chief Justice N K Jain and Justice K Sampath, before which the petition came up for hearing on Monday, admitted it and issued notices to the local administration, municipal administration commissioner and to the Animal Welfare Board of India in Chennai, returnable in two weeks.

Another plea was for a direction to the government to file a report about the number of animals now available with the three local bodies.

The petitioner contended that the local bodies, after extracting work from the animals and after they had become old and unfit for work, had auctioned off the animals. Individuals then purchased them for the sole purpose of butchering them, he said.

The petitioner said it was true that funds would have to be set aside for the maintenance of these animals. However, he contended that thousands of employees of the local bodies were given a similar statutory retirement benefit, for which funds were never grudged.

Under the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals Act, the government is empowered to set apart financial assistance to animal welfare organisations like panjrapols where animals might be provided shelter, he said. These animals should be allowed to live peacefully till they die a natural death, he said. It is the government's duty to provide necessary funds for their maintenance, the petitioner said.