The Delhi High Court has sought the MCD’s response on a plea seeking seizure of horse drawn carts or ‘tongas’ which are banned from plying in the national capital.
The high court was hearing an application by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claiming that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has failed to implement its resolution for phasing out the tongas and rehabilitating their owners.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora issued notice to the MCD on the application and listed it for August 7 when the main matter will be heard.
The application was filed in a pending petition in which animal rights activists have sought enforcement of the January 4, 2010 resolution by which the Standing Committee of the MCD had resolved to phase out the tongas and rehabilitate their owners while recognising the plight of equine animals driving the overloaded carts.
In its application, PETA’s counsel has submitted that tongas are being allowed to ply freely in crowded public spaces such as Azadpur Mandi and Narela Old Anaj Mandi.
He said on March 5, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) issued a letter noting that three horses used for illegally plying tongas in Azadpur Mandi were found positive for Glanders, which is a highly contagious zoonotic disease potentially fatal to humans.
The counsel submitted that the petitioner also issued a letter to the MCD commissioner on May 26 highlighting the urgency in the matter.
PETA sought seizure of horse-drawn carts in accordance with the MCD’s resolution by which tongas were banned in Delhi and also urged the court to issue a direction to the civic agency to file an action taken report indicating the number of seizures made.
Earlier in August 2023, the court had noted that as per an MCD status report, the civic body had seized only 58 animals and 13 carriages since February 2021.
The court was informed that there were over 170 tonga licence holders in Delhi and the MCD was regularly issuing fresh licenses at an enhanced fee.
The court had directed the MCD not to issue any fresh licences for the time being.
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