Gujarat government misleading high court, claim cattle rearers

AHMEDABAD: A day after state director general of police Ashish Bhatia asked cops to invoke PASA Act against those who prevent them from rounding up stray cattle, the Gujarat Maldhari Mahapanchayat said on Sunday that the state government has misled the high court, because of which stringent action is being taken against stray cattle.
Nagji Desai, spokesperson for the mahapanchayat, said, “Why is the government not admitting before the high court that its policy of including villages located on the outskirts of cities within city limits has created this problem?” He added that as a result, pastoral land of villages where cows grazed becomes part of city limits overnight. “The government has misled the high court by not stating this crucial information,” he added.
Desai added that while cattle rearers will continue their protest, it is for everyone to see that bootleggers who sell liquor are not booked under PASA, but those who sell milk will be booked under the PASA Act.
Following strictures by the high court over the menace of stray cattle on the streets, the state urban development department and the police have held a couple of meetings in the past few days to chalk out a plan to tackle the menace. On Saturday, Bhatia asked police officials to act strictly against those who cause hindrances in rounding up of cattle.