A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) writ has been filed in the Gujarat high court for the removal of encroachments on the land available for cow-grazing.

The state government issued a circular on Apr 1, 2015, which stated the policy to remove encroachments on cow-grazing lands.

A bench headed by chief justice Sunita Agarwal and justice N V Anjaria has asked the state government to submit a reply about the status of implementation of that 2015 policy.

Authorities grabbing the land for the cattle

The PIL writ mentioned that there are approximately two crore cattle in Gujarat, which would require 43 lakh hectares of land. 

Unfortunately, due to the encroachment of land, only eight lakh hectares of land are available for cow-grazing.

As of now, more than 435 encroachments have been found in 12 districts of the state. However, the authorities did not provide any information about whether any village had more than one encroachment.

How the authorities failed to take actions despite the law?

The PIL petitioners draw attention to the Bombay Land Revenue Code Act and the Gujarat Panchayats Act, which empower the authorities and the collectors to take action against the encroachment of lands. Despite the law, no action has been taken by the authorities.

Cattle stray into the city roads

As a result of massive encroachments on cow-grazing land, the cattle has strayed into city roads. This has been seen in cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, etc., observed, a bench comprising justices Aravind Kumar and Ashutosh Shastri which held that the owners of cattle cannot be allowed to use the streets in cities for grazing.

Recently, a scam worth ₹20,000 crore in Mulasna was exposed, with proof that the elite and powerful of Gujarat have snatched the grazing lands, a pond meant for the cattle, and the village outskirts.

Next hearing after five weeks

As per government policies, satellite mapping should be used to decide limits for cow-grazing lands. However, it seems the authorities have not followed the process. 

The next hearing in the case will be on Sept 11, 2023, where the state government is asked to submit a reply on the policies declared in 2015.

Instagram | YouTube | Facebook