Haryana poultry farmers move HC seeking relief

Haryana Poultry Farmers’ Association on Tuesday approached the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking compensation for dead/culled birds due to the bird flu outbreak.

The association in its plea said that compensation should be paid on the spot immediately after the culling is over or at the time of collecting birds from the owners, but no such relief was being provided to them.

On January 8, avian influenza was confirmed at two poultry farms in Panchkula’s Barwala belt and the district administration on Sunday completed culling of 81,000 birds at three farms falling in the infected zone.

Considered Asia’s second largest poultry belt with over 15,000 workers, Barwala and Raipur Rani have around 110 poultry farms, housing over 77 lakh poultry birds and producing one crore eggs daily. Nearly five lakh poultry birds have died so far.

The association has also challenged January 11 order of Panchkula deputy commissioner which declared Narinder Poultry Farm in Kheri village a part of alert zone and animal husbandry department was given powers to carry out activities such as culling to control and contain avian influenza. A response on the plea has been sought by February 2, while ordering that till the next date of hearing no action be taken pursuant to January 11 order in this farm’s case.

The plea also seeks quashing of Action Plan for Prevention, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza (Revised-2021), which provides for stamping out of all the live poultry birds within the infected zone of 1km from the site of confirmed flu cases. It also seeks directions not to destroy the poultry feed kept at the farms and evolve a mechanism for early and “just compensation” to farmers.