Patna High Court on Monday directed the urban development department and Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) to revert to it by Wednesday with a solution on disposal of carcasses in municipal areas.

A division bench comprising Justice Navin Sinha and Justice Shailesh Kumar Sinha, dissatisfied with the contradictory counter-affidavits filed by the department and the PMC, passed an oral order on both to jointly find a solution and inform the court by Wednesday. Else, it would ask for personal appearance of the chief secretary.

“Pursuant to the court’s order passed on November 21 to file their replies, the urban development department informed the court through an affidavit that it had allotted Rs 3.5 crore to the PMC in 2012-13. But PMC, in its affidavit, said it neither it received any money nor had it disposed carcass. In fact, it did not even have specific land for the purpose,” said Vikash Chandra Guddu Baba, the petitioner.

The contradictory statements of the department and the civic body irked the court and prompted Monday’s order.

The court passed the direction on a contempt petition filed by Baba seeking direction to authorities concerned to take appropriate steps for disposal of bodies of animals inside PMC area.

The contempt petition has been filed by Baba following the failure of the urban development department, the PMC, the animal and fish resources department and the Bihar State Pollution Control Board to implement the orders passed by the division bench on April 29, 2010. They included identification of an appropriate piece of land on the outskirts of PMC areas for disposal of animal bodies, awareness camps by PMC and ban on the PMC or anyone from throwing animal carcasses in the Ganga or on its bank.

Baba submitted that the PMC till date could not identify the land.