The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will place a proposal to revise the fines levied upon owners who let their cattle loose on the roads, posing a threat to road users, before the next Council meeting, said Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan.
At present, ₹2,000 is collected as penalty from the owners and an additional ₹200 a day is levied after impounding the animals and till the owners take them home.
The GCC keeps the cattle in its custody for three days and later sends them to the shelters maintained by the Blue Cross of India, according to an official in the civic body’s Health Department.
The Corporation has collected ₹62.90 lakh in fines till date this year and rounded up 3,241 cows, the officials said.
Mr. Radhakrishnan told reporters on Sunday that stray cattle injured six persons in Triplicane recently.
“The owners must act responsibly as this has threatened the lives of many and is a road safety risk. We are planning to take ownership of the cows of repeated offenders to control the menace. The animals belonging to the repeat offenders can be sent to Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Tanuvas) campus at Kattupakkam permanently, where the owners will not be permitted to reclaim the cows,” he told The Hindu.
As per data available, between August 29 and September 11 the civic body had identified 354 cows to be rounded up as they were found to be roaming the roads. It had rounded up 229 of those animals.
“They were sent to pounds in Perambur and Pulianthope. Regarding the instruction to send the animals of repeat offenders to Kattupakkam, a decision will be taken after studying its feasibility,” the Health Department official added. The Corporation had been receiving repeated complaints from Nanganallur, specifically in Ward 167 under Zone 12 where a local claimed that roughly 50 cows roam the locality daily.
Complaints were also received from Mylapore, Aynavaram, Ambattur, Choolaimedu and Mugalivakkam.
A motorist frequenting via Mylapore alleged that the cattle roam mainly in market areas such as Triplicane and Mylapore owing to the vegetable waste littered at the local markets. “Local authorities used to follow up on the menace every week till a few years ago. But now, the follow-up is not so stringent,” he added.
