Illegal dairy farms are still operating out of densely-populated urban areas, six years after the High Court had ordered the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi to move them to Ghogha in North-West Delhi.
Apart from being illegal, the dairies are leading to sanitation and health problems for both the cattle and residents of the area.
“The reported number of illegal dairies operating in various parts of Delhi varies. It is said to be over 1,000. In 2011, one report said there are nearly 2,361 illegal dairies in Delhi so the actual number may be more,” said PETA CEO Poorva Joshipura.
The issue of unauthorised dairies was recently brought up by Mohan Bharadwaj, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation Standing Committee chairman. “There are about 1,000 illegal dairies all over the city, especially in places like Pitampura, Uttam Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Chandrawal, Tri Nagar – to name a few. We have started the process to seal them as they have encroached on public land and their overall condition is terrible,” Mr. Bharadwaj said on Saturday.
After the 2008 High Court order, the dairies were to be relocated to a planned colony on the outskirts of the city. A total of 2,080 plots had been made in the first phase of the Ghogha Dairy project, of which 1,327 plots were allotted to dairy owners.
“A majority of the owners refused to relocate citing inadequate facilities, including water shortage. NGO Common Cause found the veterinary hospital set up by the government lacking requisite staff and basic equipment and the doctor there was busy in private practice,” said Ms. Joshipura.
Common Cause found just one veterinarian to cater to the thousands of cattle in the area. “The NGO also found that water supply was not potable in Ghogha, resulting in high morbidity of cattle,” added Ms. Joshipura.
However, municipal officials don’t take the “excuses” seriously. “The dairies may say that it’s too far or that they have other problems, but by operating within the city they are simply breaking the law,” said Mr. Bharadwaj.
He added that the allotments would be cancelled if the dairy owners do not shift to their plots in Ghogha Dairy.
The authorities say they have removed the illegal dairies many times in the past, but they keep coming back as it is more lucrative for the owners to be near consumers. “At one point in the past few years, we removed about 300 of the 319 dairies in North Delhi, but a lot of them have opened shop again,” said North Corporation spokesperson Y.S. Mann.
In South Delhi, which has three designated areas for dairies in its Najafgarh Zone, the problem is of encroachments in the legal areas, according to officials.
