Cattle protection Bill tabled in Assam Assembly; Slaughter to be prohibited in places inhabited by non-beef-eaters

From Sandeep Sharma

GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tabled “The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill 2021” in the state assembly, on the first day of the budget session on Monday seeking a ban on the sale of beef in the areas inhibited by the Hindus and places within radius of 5 km of temple, sattra or other religious institutions.

Under the bill, beef can be sold in the permitted places only.

Any violator can be jailed for three to eight years with fine which is not less than Rs 3 lakh and may extend to Rs 5 lakh.

The bill also prohibits the transport of cattle within the state as well as outside of the state for slaughter purposes.

The state government may establish or direct local authority or permit societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1960, to establish institutions like Gaushalas for taking care of cattle.

The state government may declare an officer of the animal husbandry and veterinary department, not below the rank of veterinary officer or its equivalent for the purpose of the bill, if it is passed.

For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of the act, a police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector or a registered veterinary officer shall have the power to enter and inspect any premises within the local limits of jurisdiction.

And the officers will have the power to seize any materials or carcass of cattle, which have likely been used to commit an offense from the inspected premises.

On July 8, the state cabinet had approved the bill for introduction in the assembly.

The state government’s plans to propose the bill were first announced by Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi on May 22 during his address in the first session of the 15th Assam legislative assembly. He said the proposed bill “envisages imposition of complete ban on transport of cattle outside the state.”

Sarma, after introducing the bill, said the “new legislation seeks to ensure that permission for slaughter wasn’t granted in areas that are predominantly inhabited by Hindu, Jain, Sikh and other non-beef-eating communities or places that fall within five-kilometre radius of a temple, sattra, and any other institution as maybe prescribed by the authorities”.

Exemptions might be granted for certain religious occasions, the chief minister said.

The chief minister further said that there was an imperative need to enact a new legislation and repeal the earlier Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950 which lacked sufficient legal provisions to regulate the slaughter consumption and transportation of cattle in the state.

Sarma added that the state government was not against consumption of beef or people should leave their habit, but there should be sensitivity towards others who don’t.

In Assam, the cattle slaughtering is regulated by the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950. The existing act included bulls, bullocks, cows, calves, male and female buffaloes, and buffalo calves under the term ‘cattle’.

In the state, slaughter of all cattle is allowed after a ‘fit-for-slaughter’ certificate, to be given if cattle is over 14 years of age or has become permanently incapacitated for work or breeding due to injury, deformity or any incurable disease.

As per government sources, the bill has been drafted aiming to end cattle smuggling from the state to the neighbouring country of Bangladesh.

Currently, cattle from many states of the country have been illegally transported via Assam and smuggled to the neighbouring country as well as to Meghalaya.

Sarma has said that the volume of illegal cattle smuggling was somewhere around Rs. 1000 crore monthly and the state police have launched a crackdown against cattle smuggling and the racketeers. A few were even recently shot too.

As per state police the existing law doesn’t allow them to stop someone from transporting cattle to another state. If stopped, the smugglers can claim that these are personal cattle.

According to the Union government, the Border Security Force (BSF) had seized 476,035 head of cattle between 2016 and 2020 along the Indo-Bangla border. Assam shares 263 km of border with Bangladesh, out of which 143.9 km is land and 119.1 km is riverine.