GCC: Penalty for owners of stray cattle doubled to Rs 10,000

CHENNAI: The city Corporation has increased the penalty for cattle owners, whose cattle have been found roaming on the roads.

To control the stray-cattle nuisance within the city corporation limit, the fine was raised to Rs 10,000 from the currently levied Rs 5,000, a resolution passed in the council meeting on Tuesday read.

Under the supervision of the public health department and traffic inspectors, the stray-cattle are impounded in shelters at Pudupet and Perambur maintained by the Corporation.

In September 2023, the GCC increased the penalty from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 to control the stray-cattle menace. The maintenance charge, imposed from the third day after the cattle was impounded, was also hiked to Rs 1,000 from Rs 200.

At present, a penalty of Rs 5,000 per cattle is being imposed, and an additional Rs 1,000 per day is collected from the third day onwards as a maintenance charge.

In 2023, more than 4,200 cattle were seized, and Rs 92.04 lakh penalty was collected. As of July 2024, at least 1,425 cattle have been caught, and Rs 59.08 lakh fines have been imposed on the owners, stated the resolution.

Despite these efforts, there have been complaints of stray-cattle on the roads, and multiple cattle attack incidents reported in the city.

To address the issue effectively, the local body decided to double the fine to Rs 10,000, and the additional maintenance charge of Rs 1,000 per day starting from the third day.

When the same cattle are caught for the second time, Rs 15,000 will be imposed as penalty, which was Rs 10,000 earlier.