WP No.20608 of 2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 19.08.2026 CORAM THE HON'BLE MR.SUSHRUT ARVIND DHARMADHIKARI, CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE G.ARUL MURUGAN WP No.20608 of 2024 C.Raman .. Petitioner -vs- 1. The Additional Chief Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries Department, Secretariat, Chennai 600 009. 2. The District Collector, Cuddalore District, Cuddalore. 3. The Regional Joint Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Pudupalayam Main Road, Veterinary Hospital Complex, Cuddalore. 4. The Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Pudupalayam Main Road, Veterinary Hospital Complex, Cuddalore. .. Respondents Prayer: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the 1st respondent to establish a veterinary hospital in the Kolakkudi Village within a specific https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP No.20608 of 2024 period of time prescribed by this Court pursuant to the representation dated 05.01.2024. For Petitioner : No appearance For Respondents : Mr.C.A.Ramanan Govt. Advocate * * * * * ORDER (Order of the Court was made by the Hon'ble Chief Justice) No one appears for the petitioner. 2. The present writ petition, styled as public interest litigation, seeks for a direction to the first respondent to establish a veterinary hospital in Kolakkudi Village within a time bound period. 3. The respondents have filed a counter-affidavit, in which it is stated as under: “4. With regard to the averments made in paragraphs 6 and 7 of the affidavit, it is submitted that as per the norms issued by the Government of India which are being followed by the Government of Tamil Nadu and with regard to setting up of a new Veterinary Dispensary, the minimum number of Cattle should be 5000 in and around the village and the distance between the two Veterinary Dispensaries shall have to be 5 kilometers. Further, there is no provision to establish a https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP No.20608 of 2024 Veterinary Dispensary straightaway but only by way of upgradation from Veterinary Sub-Centre to Veterinary Dispensary. As far as the Kolakkudi Village is concerned, there are only around 300 cattles unit population and Goat population is 450 units. Hence, a new Veterinary Dispensary could not be established at Kolakkudi Village and even for establishing Veterinary Sub-Centre the minimum number of Cattle should be 3000 as per norms. 5. It is submitted that already a Veterinary Dispensary is functioning at Maruvai Village, Kurinichipadi Block, Cuddalore District, which is six kilometers away from Kolakkudi Village. However, the petitioner has requested to set up a Veterinary Dispensary at the Kolakkudi village, which comes under the jurisdiction of Maruvai Veterinary Dispensary and now the said Dispensary is taking care of the medical needs of the cattles of the Villages namely Kolakkudi, Karunkuzhi, Pethanayagankupam, Thambipettai and Thaiyalkunampattinam. 6. With regard to the averment made in paragraph 8 of the affidavit, it is submitted that the petitioner herein submitted a representation on 05.01.2024 requesting to establish a Veterinary Hospital in Kolakkudi Village. In this regard, this respondent took a livestock assessment in Kolakkudi Village and it was found that the number of Cattle is 300 and the number of Goats is 450. The Government of Tamil Nadu is following the norms prescribed by the Government of India with regard to establishment of Veterinary Institutions. As per the said norms, for establishing a new Veterinary Hospital, the number of cattles should be 5000 unit and even for settingup of a Sub-Centre, the number of cattles should be https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP No.20608 of 2024 3000 and the number of cattle coming for treatment should be atleast 10 per day. Apart from the above said fact, the Local Body Authorities should allot atleast 20 cent of land for setting up of such Veterinary Institutions. 7. With regard to the averment made in paragraphs 9 and 10 of the affidavit, it is submitted that in the present case, there is no land for setting up of new Veterinary Hospital at Kolakkudi Village, since the entire lands in the said village and the neighbouring village have been acquired by M/s NLC India Limited for the purpose of mining of Lignite. The medical needs of the cattle and livestock of Maruvai village and also the other villages viz., Kolakkudi, Karunkuzhi, Pethanayagankupam, Thambipettai and Thaiyalkunampattinam are being taken care in a proper and sufficient manner by the present Veterinary Hospital at Maruvai, where the cattles are brought for treatment. Priority is given to the said villages for implementing all the schemes being introduced by Government of Tamil Nadu through Maruvai Veterinary Dispensary.” 4. On a perusal of the averments made in the counter-affidavit, it is seen that already a veterinary dispensary is functioning at Maruvai, Kurinchipadi Block, Cuddalore District, which is 6 kms. away from Kolakkudi Village. The dispensary now sought to be located comes within the jurisdiction of Maruvai Veterinary Dispensary and the said dispensary is taking care of the medical needs of the cattles of the villages including the village suggested by the petitioner. Moreover, as https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP No.20608 of 2024 per the norms, the minimum number of cattles should be 5000 whereas in Kolakkudi Village, there are only about 300 cattles and 450 goat population. In view of the same, it is not feasible to establish a veterinary hospital in Kolakkudi Village. In view of the aforesaid, we do not find any ground to entertain the writ petition. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. (SUSHRUT ARVIND DHARMADHIKARI, CJ.) (G.ARUL MURUGAN, J.) 19.08.2026 Index : Yes/No Neutral Citation : Yes/No sra To 1. The Additional Chief Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries Department, Secretariat, Chennai 600 009. 2. The District Collector, Cuddalore District, Cuddalore. 3. The Regional Joint Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Pudupalayam Main Road, Veterinary Hospital Complex, Cuddalore. Page 5 of 6 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP No.20608 of 2024 THE HON'BLE CHIEF JUSTICE AND G.ARUL MURUGAN, J. (sra) 4. The Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Pudupalayam Main Road, Veterinary Hospital Complex, Cuddalore. WP No.20608 of 2024 19.08.2026 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis