Amritsar MC to urge 368 dairy owners to shift outside city

The Amritsar Municipal Corporation (MC) has begun preparing a detailed action plan against 368 dairies operating within city limits in compliance with the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The civic body has decided to first sensitise dairy owners about shifting their establishments outside the municipal limits, failing which strict action will be initiated.

According to officials, teams from the MC’s Health Department will start visiting dairy owners from next week. During these visits, the owners will be informed about the High Court’s directions and encouraged to voluntarily relocate their dairies outside the city. However, if they fail to comply, the MC will begin enforcement measures to remove them.

The civic body is planning to disconnect electricity, water and sewerage connections of dairies that continue to operate within the municipal limits despite the warning. Officials said the MC is also considering seizing cattle from such establishments and sending them to nearby gaushalas.

Initially, the MC will focus on dairies functioning in densely populated areas located in the heart of the city. As many as 110 such dairies have been identified. Action against dairies located in comparatively outer areas and other peripheral localities will be taken at a later stage.

In densely populated localities, including Seva Nagar, Azad Nagar, Guru Nanak Wara, Chheharta, Batala Road, Mohni Park, Ekta Nagar, Haripura, Model Town, Bhalla Colony, Sanjay Gandhi Colony, Housing Board Colony, Mustafabad, Majitha Road, Damganj, Islamabad, Gurbaksh Nagar and Shiv Nagar Colony, dairy owners will be asked to voluntarily relocate their operations outside the city from next week.

Meanwhile, dairy owners have filed a review petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking reconsideration of the earlier order directing the relocation of dairies outside the city. In the petition, they argued that the proposed dairy complex at Fatahpur, where the MC intends to shift them, also falls within municipal limits, which could create similar issues in the future.

Dairy owners currently operating in Fatahpur have also expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of basic infrastructure at the proposed site.

Earlier, the MC had attempted to auction 116 vacant plots at the Fatahpur Dairy Complex through an online bidding process. However, the auction failed to attract interest due to the absence of adequate facilities at the site and the high reserve price fixed for the plots.

Last Friday, MC Commissioner Bikramjit Singh Shergill held a meeting with senior officials to review the issue and discuss the implementation of the High Court’s directions.