G.B Patnaik, J.:— A tax payer having failed in his attempt to arouse the civic authorities from their slumber has knocked the doors of the Court with a prayer that a mandamus be issued to the Municipal authorities to discharge their statutory obligations so that the citizens of Cuttack town can lead a civilised life in the metropolis.
2. The number of cows bulls roaming on the public street has gone up to such an extent and the stray dogs loitering on the public road have gone up to such an extent that it has become impossible for a citizen to walk in the street of Cuttack or to drive a car or even to move on a bicycle and the Municipal authorities have become totally callous to their responsibilities and duties and, therefore, the citizen has approached the Court of law. This matter has been dragging on since 1988 and from time to time several interim orders have been passed and finally the Court had called upon the petitioner as well as the counsel appearing for the Municipality to prepare a scheme in relation to the duties of the Municipal authorities to make the roads of Cuttaek town free of stray cows and bulls and stray dogs and in pursuance to that some schemes were formulated.
3. But on examining those schemes we are unable to approve any one of them since in our opinion the schemes cannot be implemented successfully. There is no dispute and in fact the Municipality in its counter affidavit has admitted that almost each and every road in Cuttack town is full of stray dogs and stray cows and bulls. There is no Kine house within the Municipal limits. There is no attempt by the Municipality to take appropriate steps for making the roads within the Municipal limits free of those stray cows, bulls and dogs as a result of which the life has been endangered and public safety has been geopardised.
4. The Executive Officer of the Municipality has filed an affidavit stating therein that there is a dog squad which operates from Ward to Ward to kill the stray dogs and coolies engaged by the Municipality moved from Ward to Ward and impound the cows and bulls to the Kine House. But judicial notice can be taken of the fact that the roads of Cuttack town are full of stray cows and dogs and even the Gopabandhu Marg which is the old Cantonment Road wherein the residential quarters of Government officers are situated is not free from the same. In fact one would be ashamed to call Cuttack a City where the minimum amenities are not available. Cuttack is not only the oldest City in the State but is the commercial nerve centre of the
5. State located in between two rivers. Even this much cannot be ensured to its citizens that the roads should be free of the stray cows and bulls and the stray dogs. The Municipal authorities cannot be permitted to take the plea of expenditure and, in our considered opinion, it is their duty to see that atleast the roads are made free of stray cows and bulls as well as stray dogs.
6. Ensuring public health and safety is the duty of the State of the Municipal Corporation and right to life within Article 21 of the Constitution includes right to live with human dignity. The bare necessities of life are to be ensured by the civic authorities. The Supreme Court in the case of Vikram Deo Singh Tomar v. State Of Bihar. (1988 Supp SCC 734 : A.I.R 1988 S.C 1782) examining the question as to the meaning of right to life within the ambit of Article 21 of the Constitution observed)
“We live in an age when this Court has demonstrated while interpreting Article 21 of the Constitution, that every person is entitled to a quality of life consistent with his human personality. The right to live with human dignity is the fundamental right of every Indian citizen. And, so, in the discharge of its responsibilities to the people, the State recognises the need for maintaining establishments for the care of those unfortunates, both women and children, who are the castaways of an imperfect social order and for-whom, therefore, of necessity provision must be made for their protection and welfare. Both common humanity and considerations of law and order require the State to do so. To abide by the constitutional standards recognised by well-accepted principle, it is incumbent upon the State when assigning women and children to these establishments, euphemistically described as “Care Homes”, to provide at least the minimum condition ensuring human dignity. What we see before us in the instant case is a crowded hovel, in which a large number of human beings have been thrown together, compelled to subsist in conditions of animal survival, conditions which blatantly deny their basic humanity. How else shall we describe an establishment where women are detained in miserable conditions, compelling most of them to sleep on broken floors, in damp and dank conditions with no covering whatever to protect them from the chill wind and neat freezing tempsratures, of the north Indian winter, who are fed a wretched health-denying diet, are denied the basic amenities of convenient toilets and a private bathing place, who, if they complaint, are beaten up, and although attacked by disease and illness are unable to find timely medical relief. It is clear that the Welfare Department of the State Government of Bihar views its responsibilities in regard to these women with a lightness which ill befits its existence and the public funds appropriated to it. The name of “Care Home” given to these establishments is an ironic misnomer. The primitive conditions in which the inmates are compelled to live shock the conscience.”
7. What has been observed by their Lordships of the Supreme Court in respect of a “Care Home” would equally apply to the roads of the Municipality and the duties of the Municipal authorities to keep such roads clean and free from stray cows, bulls and dogs. Section 287 of the Orissa Municipal Act is a prohibition against keeping animal so as to be a nuisance or dangerous. Section 253 of the Orissa Municipal Act deals with the road safety and Section 88 of the Act is the emergency power of the Executive Officer for immediate execution or doing of which is in his opinion necessary for the service of safety of the public. Very often and also to this case in course of argument contention was advanced that it was the duty of citizens to assist the Municipality in preserving the cleanness of the City and in maintaining roads of the City free from stray cows, bulls and dogs. We have no doubt in our mind with regard to the aforesaid duties of every citizen and it is appropriate for us to extract a passage from the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of M.C Mehta v. Union of India, (1992) 1 SCC 358 : A.I.R 1992 S.C 382:
“Law is a regulator of human conduct as the professors of jurisprudence say, but no law can indeed effectively work unless there is an element of acceptance by the people in society. No law works out smoothly unless the interaction is voluntary. In order that human conduct may be in accordance with the prescription of law it is necessary that there should be appropriate awareness about what the law requires and there is an element of acceptance that the requirement of law is grounded upon a philosphy which should be followed. This would be possible only when steps are taken in an adequate measure to make people aware of the indispensable necessity of their conduct being oriented in accordance with the requirements of law.”
8. There has been an explosion of human population within the Municipal limit of Cuttack and sense of idealism in the living process has eroded. The age old norms of co-living are no longer followed. The necessity to do good to the society has died out. But all the same we appreciate the conduct of the public spirited people like the petitioner who having failed to get any redress from the authorities ultimately approached this Court for some directions. Since the schemes formulated by the parties and produced before us were found to be insufficient, we dispose of this writ application with the following directions ‘
(i) A committee be formed with the Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Cuttack as its Chairman and in the said Committee apart from the Chairman, Cuttack Municipality and its Executive Officer, the Collector of the district and the Superintendent of Police should also be its members;
(ii) The Revenue Divisional Commissioner can cope up the public spirited people who would be willing to render their valuable assistance in formulating a scheme to tackle the menance of stray cows, bulls and dogs
(iii) The Vice Chairman, Cuttack Development Authority should also be a member of the said committee so that, if necessary, some lands could be earmarked and allotted for the purpose of establishing Kine House
(iv) The committee would be empowered to suggest any amendment to the Municipal Laws if they find that the existing law is not sufficient to tackle the problem and on such suggestion, if made, the appropriate authority should take steps in that regard;
(v) As an immediate interim measure, the Executive Officer of the Cuttack Municipality can publicise and announce that if any person allows their cows, bulls or dogs to roam on the road, the Municipal authorities would be entitled to take them for the purpose of impounding in the Kine House;
(vi) The so-called Dog squad which is stated to be in vogue should be energised to destroy the stray dogs moving on the roads which will be a step in solving the menance in accordance with the ultimate scheme to be framed
(vii) The committee in question be constituted by the Government in the Urban Development Department bearing in mind our observations made in this case within two months from the date of the receipt of our order and the said committee should frame the scheme within three months from the date of its formulation
(viii) The Secretary to the Revenue Divisional Commissioner should be appointed as the convenor and he should take steps for convening the meeting of the committee;
(ix) It would be open for the petitioner to approach for any further direction in this regard if he finds that the aforesaid committee is not functioning to the satisfaction of all concerned.
9. The writ application is disposed of with the aforesaid observations and directions.
B. Panigrahi, J.:— I agree.
10. Ordered accordigly.