Only 22% of Gurgaon’s stray dogs sterilised, Haryana tells Supreme Court
Haryana government, in a compliance affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on October 31, stated that 12,670 of stray dogs have been sterilised, vaccinated, dewormed, and tagged.
Gurgaon district, which covers five urban civic bodies, is home to an estimated 58,830 stray dogs, the highest in Haryana; however, so far only 22 per cent of the dogs have been sterilised. This is according to an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court in response to a suo motu case on stray dog attacks.
The state government, in a compliance affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on October 31, stated that 12,670 stray dogs have been sterilised, vaccinated, dewormed, and tagged.
The affidavit also covers neighbouring districts of Nuh, Palwal, and Faridabad, which together reported 80,830 stray dogs across 14 municipalities. Of these, 21,491 have undergone the Animal Birth Control (ABC) procedure.
The state government has reported 2,30,675 stray dogs across 87 urban civic bodies, with 60,812 sterilised, vaccinated, de-wormed, tagged, and released (to the same area from which they were picked up) under the 2023 ABC Rules.
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will issue directions to all states and Union Territories on November 7 on regulating the feeding of stray dogs in government institutions, and similar premises where the employees support canines.
While hearing the matter on October 27, the Supreme Court had noted that the reports of attacks by stray canines are being used to malign India’s image abroad. The court had come down heavily on states and Union Territories for failing to file compliance affidavits in compliance with its previous directions on the issue.
Notably, Faridabad’s civic body health officer Dr Nitish Parwal had in August told The Indian Express that the district has around 50,000 community dogs as per their internal estimates.
The court had directed chief secretaries of all states –- excluding West Bengal and Telangana -– to appear personally and explain the lapse.
On Monday, the respective chief secretaries appeared in person before the court and informed the Bench that they had filed their compliance affidavits.
Haryana’s current affidavit cites delays in receiving approval from the Animal Welfare Board and issues related to inter-municipality coordination as reasons for the delayed filing.
Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana.
Education
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020)
- B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019)
Professional Experience
Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features.
Reporting Interests
His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon.
Recent Coverage (2025)
- Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025).
- Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025).
- Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025).
- Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram.
- Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025).
- Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025).
Contact
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