Issues sorted out in meeting taken by AG
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 5: Forest Department has agreed to allow use of 400 kanals of land in Seri Khurd area of Nagrota tehsil for grazing of the animals and to meet fodder requirement of upcoming cattle pound of Jammu Municipal Corporation.
The decision has been taken in a meeting chaired by Advocate General D C Raina and attended by Commissioner Secretary Forest, Commissioner Secretary Revenue, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Chief Conservator of Forests, Commissioner JMC and other officers.
In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) titled SAVE Versus State of J&K and Others, the High Court vide order dated December 21, 2022 had requested the Advocate General to convene meeting with all the concerned authorities to sort out the issues highlighted in the PIL.
In the meeting, the JMC Commissioner submitted that as per the policy of Corporation in vogue, there is no need to shift 59 unregistered dairies in the jurisdiction of JMC to Cattle Pound at Nagrota and licenses may be given to unregistered dairies subject to the fulfillment of certain requisite criteria including scientific disposal of Municipal Solid Waste etc.
It was decided that Forest Department will allow the use of another 400 kanals of adjoining land for grazing and roaming purposes only for the animals which will cater to fodder requirement of JMC for housing a greater number of animals in the cattle pound at Seri Khurd subject to the condition that no construction of structure be done by the JMC.
Moreover, it was decided that the Forest Department will nominate Divisional Forest Officer Jammu as Nodal Officer for settlement of issues related to the cattle pound in coordination with JMC.
The land for the cattle pound has been identified on the directions of the Division Bench of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh. The then First Puisne Judge Justice Rajesh Bindal passed several orders for having one of the best Gaushalas in Jammu and had also deputed the then Municipal Veterinary Officer to several Northern States including Punjab, Haryana and UP to study the most successful Gaushalas so that similar pattern can be adopted in Jammu.
In the meantime, the Forest Department raised a dispute with the JMC that out of 97 kanals of land identified for the cattle pound, 55 kanals of land belongs to the Forest Department, which resulted in the change of DPR by the JMC. However, the animal NGO SAVE consistently raised its concern before the Division Bench that the land is not adequate for cattle pound and Forest Department has unnecessarily raised the dispute when in a joint demarcation the land had been declared as State land.
On the last date of hearing, the Division Bench headed by Justice Tashi Rabstan, after considering the submissions of Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed appearing for SAVE, requested the Advocate General D C Raina to convene the meeting of concerned authorities to sort out the issues.
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