Haryana Municipal (Cow-houses) Bye-laws, 1978

Published vide Haryana Government Notification No. GSR 54/HA27/73 Sections 200 and 214/78, dated 19th May, 1978

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(1) These Bye-laws may be called the Haryana Municipal (Cow Houses) Bye-laws, 1978.

(2) They shall apply to all the municipalities.

In these bye-laws, unless the context otherwise requires, -

(a) "animal" means cow or buffalo excluding its young one not above the age of six months;

(b) "cow house" means the premises where animals are kept;

(d) words and expressions used herein but not defined in these bye-laws shall have the same meaning as are assigned to them in the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973.

No person shall use or permit to be used any premises, or part thereof, owned or occupied by him, within the limits of a municipality, as a cow house without a licence issued in this behalf by the Municipal Medical Officer of Health (hereinafter referred to as the Licencing Officer).
(1) For every cow house, a separate licence shall be necessary. Unless the committee, for reasons to be recorded in a resolution otherwise direct, the number of licences granted for cow houses within the compound of a single building shall not exceed two.

(2) No licence shall be granted unless the conditions herein contained are fulfilled to the satisfaction of the licensing officer.

The form of application to be made and the licence to be issued under the bye-laws shall be such as the committee may, from time to time, prescribe.
The licensing officer shall, in every licence, specify the description and the number of animals which may be kept in the licensed premises. The number of animals specified shall be such that there is sufficient space available for each animal at the following scale :-

Age of animal	Space to be reserved per animal
Between 6 months and 12 months	20 square feet
Between 1 and 2 years	30 square feet
Between 2 and 3 years	40 square feet
3 years and above	80 square feet

Such space shall be exclusive of any manner or any central or side drain.

Every licence issued or renewed under these bye-laws shall unless previously suspended or revoked remain in force up to the 31st March, following the date of its issue or renewal. An application for the renewal of a licence shall be made at least fifteen days before its expiry; provided that if the application for renewal of the licence is not made within the prescribed period, the committee may entertain the application on payment of late fee of two rupees per month in respect of the defaulting period. The period of less than thirty days shall be counted as one month. The committee may in appropriate cases reduce the amount of late fee from any applicant on sufficient grounds.
(1) The annual fee to be paid for a licence under these bye-laws shall be ten rupees per animal of above one year's age and five rupees per animal up to one year's age.

Municipal and Government owned or controlled cattle heirs [faiss?] are exempted from the operation of these bye-laws.

(2) No fee shall be charged in respect of a licence issued to -

(a) registered Gaushalas,

(b) householders who keep milch animal for their personal use and not for sale of milk.

No person shall transfer or take over from any other person a licence and outgoing licensee's licence shall be taken as cancelled for the unexpired period; provided that he shall not be entitled to refund of any amount for the unexpired period of the licence.
Every licence issued under the bye-laws, shall be subject to the following conditions, namely :-

(a) Every cow house shall be well paved with stable bricks, asphalt stone, brick on edge with cement pointing or flag stones set in cement, or with some other suitable impervious materials approved by the licencing officer;

(b) The floor of every cow house shall incline to a channel or gutter, sloping towards and draining directly into a gully pit communicating with a sewer situated immediately outside the cow house :

Provided that, in the area which has no sewerage facility, -

(i) such channel or gutter shall drain directly into a cesspool similarly situated, the contents whereof shall be removable; and

(ii) such cesspool shall be constructed of bricks set in cement and cement plastered, or of some other suitable impervious material approved by the licencing officer and shall be so constructed as not to admit rain water;

(c) the slope of the floor shall be made so as to incline away from the heads of animals, and in the case of floor of cow houses accommodating two rows of animals shall be made so as to incline outwards;

(d) every cow house shall have suitable openings for light and ventilation as approved by the licencing officer;

(e) every cow house shall have one story only, and there shall be no construction, arrangement or fixture permitting of any lofts or sleeping place, either over the roof or within the interior over the stalls; provided that the licensing officer may sanction the erection of an upper storey if the floor thereof be constructed of impervious material to his satisfaction;

(f) the interior fittings of every cow house shall be so constructed and placed as to provide for each animal kept there in a clear superficial floor space of at least forty square feet and clear lateral space of at least five feet;

(g) the walls of every cow house shall be at least eight feet in height from the level of the floor up to the junction of the eaves with the walls;

(h) no cow house in which cattle are kept for sale or for the sale of their produce shall be so constructed as to provide for the storage of milk vessels therein;

(i) for every cow house in which cows or milch buffaloes are kept, there shall be provided a separate shed or place for the temporary storage of milk and milk vessels :

Provided that such shed or place shall not communicate directly with any cow house and shall not, without the special permission of the licensing officer, be placed within a distance of ten feet from any privy connected with a sewer or nineteen feet from the service privy or urinal;

(j) the licensee shall inform the licensing officer immediately of any outbreak of any infectious disease among the animals kept on the licensed premises and shall segregate the animals effected pending the order of the such officer;

(k) the licensee shall cause milch cattle to be properly washed at least once a week:

Provided that in the case of residential houses constructed during 1976 or earlier, relaxation in conditions (a) to (g) and (i) may be made in case of householders who keep one milch animal for their personal use and not for sale of milk subject to the condition that provision is made for suitable drainage from the cow house upto the municipal drain :

Provided further that in respect of houses to be constructed after 1976, no house owner shall be allowed to keep an animal in a residential house, unless the conditions of these bye-laws are fulfilled.

No cow house shall be erected within fifty feet of any premises which are licenced for the sale of articles of food and drink.
No person shall live or cook food in any cow house nor shall there be any opening from any cow house likely to permit direct ventilation therefrom into any kitchen or place of human habitation.
No person, shall refuse to allow the licensing officer or any official authorised by the committee to inspect, at any reasonable time, any cow house or any place in which it is suspected that animals are kept .
Every licence holder -

(i) shall cause the cow house to be thoroughly swept and cleaned, and shall cause all litter, dung, filth and rubbish, and the contents of all cesspools to be removed at least twice a day. Such litter, during, filth or other offensive material must be collected and stored in proper dust bins or receptacles to be provided by the licensees prior to its final removal :

Provided that nothing in this bye-law shall apply to any cow house where arrangements have been made to the satisfaction of the licensing officer for the daily disposal of all such filth and other offensive material by incineration or otherwise.

(ii) shall after the floor is swept and cleaned, cause it to be swilled with fresh water [; and]

[(iii) shall not allow the animals to graze or move about on any of the public streets, grassy lawns or open places during any time of day or night.]

Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, these bye-laws in so far as the structural alteration of the existing cow house is required, shall not come into force until six months after the date of their enforcement.
Without prejudice to any other action that may be taken against a licensee, his licence may be suspended or revoked for the breach of any of these bye-laws or the conditions of the licence by the licensing officer; provided that no licence shall be cancelled or revoked unless a reasonable opportunity of being heard has been afforded to the licensee.
An appeal shall lie to the committee from any order of the licensing officer passed under these bye-laws. Such appeal shall be preferred within ten days from the date of communication of the order to the applicant or the licensee, as the case may be.
The committee may for reasons to be recorded in writing and by its resolution exclude any area, or any house or houses from the operation of these bye-laws for any length of time.
Any breach of the provisions of these bye-laws or the conditions of the licence issued thereunder, shall be punishable, on conviction by a magistrate, with a fine which shall not be less than twenty-five rupees, and more than two hundred rupees, and if the breach is continuing one, with a further fine of ten rupees of every day after the first during which the breach continues.
Any bye-law applicable to the municipalities which is in force immediately before the commencement of these bye-laws is hereby repealed :

Provided that any order made or action taken under the bye-law so repealed shall be deemed to have been made or taken under the corresponding provisions of these bye-laws.