Mumbai: Bombay High Court on Wednesday upheld the ban imposed by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on feeding pigeons. The court reprimanded BMC and said that it cannot change decisions arbitrarily.
Bombay High Court has ordered ban on feeding pigeons at a time when Supreme Court had recently given the decision to catch stray dogs in Delhi-NCR areas and send them to shelter homes.
On the order of Bombay High Court, BMC lawyer Ramchandra Apte said, “The court has appointed a special committee which will investigate the aspects related to public health. The committee will prepare its recommendations and after submitting them, the court will take a final decision based on these recommendations.”
Petitioner’s lawyer Harish J. Pandya said on the Bombay High Court order, “Pigeon feeders were allowed to apply for permission from the BMC on a temporary basis. Two different petitioners submitted applications. The time limit has not been mentioned. The BMC counsel informed that they received one application but not the other. He requested that copies of these applications be provided to the BMC counsel by Thursday.”
During the hearing, the BMC told the Bombay High Court that it is ready to allow pigeon feeding between 6 am and 8 am with certain conditions. On this, the court raised the question that when the ban was first imposed in public interest, how can the decision be changed now on the opinion of one person.
The court directed the BMC to follow the legal process, issue a public notice and take suggestions from all stakeholders, especially citizens, before changing the decision.
The court also said, “The municipality cannot take a direct decision. Public health and the constitutional rights of citizens have to be considered.”
