Constitute committees to look into welfare of temple animals,

The Madras High Court today directed the government to constitutestate and district-level committees to look into the welfare of elephants and cows donated to temples, as envisaged under Tamil Nadu Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules 2011, within six weeks.
The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh, gave the direction on a PIL filed by Radha Rajan, an animal welfare activist, seeking a direction to the authorities to maintain elephants and cows, donated to temple by devotees, in a healthy condition.
The bench also directed the government to install a closed circuit TV camera in goshalas, where the animals are kept, for monitoring.

Thecounsel for the petitioner submitted that despite numerous enactments and clear guidelines laid down by the High Court, authorities had "grossly neglected their duties of both administration of temples and prevention of cruelty to animals."
"The inaction on the part of the authorities to obey the orders of the High Court ought to attract strict action against the errants. The old cows were sold to third parties who in turn send them to slaughter houses in neighbouring states," the counsel contended.
The bench, while passing further interim orders on another PIL, also directed that a female elephant of Koodalalagar temple in Madurai, which required treatment, behanded over to the Forest Department within seven days.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing to April15.