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Amid opposition, Mohali MC House approves cattle dairy shed in Industrial Area
Councillors of Azad group in opposition said small-time dairy farmers would not be able to pay rent for cattle shed
Heated arguments ensued during the question hour of the House meeting of the municipal corporation (MC) on Tuesday when Congress councillors started replying to questions asked by the Azad group even though they were asked to the mayor.
The Azad group councillors again took up the issue of construction of the cattle shed on 3.5 acres of land in Industrial Area, Phase 8, alleging that Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) had leased the land to MC and it couldn’t be subleased further.
The agenda, which was tabled in the House, was to shift milch animals out of city limits by developing a cattle dairy shed, to be carved out of 13.6 acres of MC land in Industrial Area, Phase 8B. The agenda was approved amid the ruckus.
The Azad group alleged that Congress councillors came prepared to counter their allegations on the issue of allotting land to dairy owners for shifting of cattle to a designated place on the lines of Milk Colony in Chandigarh.
Congress councillors were carrying full-size photographs of stray cattle seen on roads, which they flaunted as soon as the Opposition started questioning the agenda point.
Opposed to charging rent from dairy farmers: Opposition
Opposition councillors Gurmeet Kaur flanked by Aruna Sharma, Ramanpreet Kaur from Kumbran and Harjinder Kaur from Sohana raised objections over the agenda point to rent out sheds to dairy owners to set up cattle rearing units. Ramanpreet Kaur said, “We are not opposing the agenda for shifting of the cattle out of the city but the charging of rent from dairy owners.”
“Small-time dairy owners will not be able to pay the rent to the tune of ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 per month as they might not earn that much after selling the milk,” she added.
While clarifying the issue, city mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu said, “We gave time to the Opposition, but they raised an unnecessary issue.”
“It has been observed that local dairy owners let their cattle stray out on roads for grazing after milking them which causes much inconvenience to the commuters,” he added.
Deputy mayor Kuljeet Singh Bedi said, “We have earmarked 3.5 acres of land for setting up a shed where local dairy owners will be given space to tie their cattle and milk them. The space will be given as per the number of cattle owned by the dairy owners. The cattle will not be allowed to let out in the open.”
Apart from this another agenda item regarding developing a children’s park under Amrut Mission and developing a park in Industrial Area, Phase 9, were also passed.
