Chandigarh: The Punjab government today
trashed media reports suggesting that a new tax would be
imposed on people in urban areas for keeping pets, cattle or
other animals.
A spokesperson of the Navjot Singh Sidhu led local
government department said that the state government is
framing 'Punjab Municipal Corporation and Municipal
(Registration Control of Stray Animals and Compensation to the
Victim of Animal Attack) bye-laws, 2017 as per court orders.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had on a civil writ
petition recently asked Punjab, Haryana and the Union
Territory of Chandigarh to chalk out a policy for putting to a
stop the occurrences of people being bitten by stray dogs or
other animals and awarding compensation to the family of
deceased persons, he said.
"Under the proposal, no new tax is intended to be
imposed. Instead the purported letters circulated in media has
been released for framing a policy/proposal regarding giving
compensation in case of death caused due to stray dog/animal
biting," he said.
Earlier a purported government letter was circulated
according to which people living in urban areas were expected
to pay different tax rates ranging between Rs 250 to Rs 500
per year for owning a dog, cat, pig, sheep, deer, buffalo,
bull, camel, horse or cow.
The reports had prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)
to attack cabinet minister Sidhu.
Former minister and SAD general secretary Bikram Singh
Majithia said it required someone with "special ability" like
Sidhu to come up with a "special" tax which seeks to not only
charge a registration fee but also an annual renewal charge
for keeping pet as well as milch animal in the municipal
limits of towns and cities in the State.
Clarifying the position, an official spokesman said that
the local government department has not imposed any such tax.
