Even as the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) on Friday took a step forward in the direction of scaling up the vaccination and sterilisation of stray dogs and awarded a two-year contract to a nonprofit, RWAs and veterinarians in the city expressed skepticism about the cost allocation of Rs 700 for each stray.
The MCG has awarded the contract to Maa Baglamukhi Sewa Samiti, based out of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, for carrying out sterilisation and mass anti-rabies vaccination of stray dogs across all four zones of the city under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules. Two separate work orders have been issued for two zones each in this regard.
Under the contract, the agency will be paid ₹700 for sterilisation and ₹250 for administering anti-rabies vaccination of each stray dog. The work commenced Saturday and is set to continue until November 28, 2027. The agency has been directed to immediately contact the sanitary inspectors concerned across the city and get area-specific details from them.
All procedures, including post-operative care and release of dogs, will be carried out after due approval from the MCG Chief Medical Officer, as per the contract.
NGO’s vice-president, Pankaj Kumar Shukla, said that costs are workable given the work on a large scale. “Since we will not work on a profit basis and will be procuring material at bulk, the costs are manageable. We will send and use our doctors from here, and are also in contact with some people and organisations in Gurgaon to be roped in as and when necessary.”
MCG Commissioner Pradeep Dahiya said the initiative was necessary in view of the rising stray dog population and the persistent risk of rabies in the city. “Sterilisation and vaccination are the only scientific and humane methods to control the population and eliminate rabies threat. The entire city has now been brought under the ABC programme,” he added.
Officials said the corporation has been under pressure to scale up the programme after repeated complaints of dog bites and growing public concern in residential and commercial areas. The contracts mark the first time in recent years that the entire municipal area has been covered under a single coordinated ABC drive.
“How can it be done for Rs 700?”
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However, residents and veterinarians expressed skepticism and wondered if the sterilisation rates are enough to cover the costs.
At Suncity Township in Sector 54, the RWA spends at least Rs 5,000 for the sterilisation of every dog — the cost was less than half before the pandemic, residents say. “How can it be done for Rs 700? And they tend to give the tender to some substandard companies also instead of reputed ones in the city that have done great work. It is not realistic,” Suncity Residents Welfare Association (RWA) chairperson Kusum Sharma said.
Sudhir Sachdeva, founder of Delhi-based nonprofit Stand for Animals and a resident of Gurgaon, said the amount is “not logical”. “Including the costs of ambulances to pick them up, doctors and proper facilities, it cannot be done at that cost. Around Rs 1500-2000 is needed per dog even at a mass scale.”
Dr Abhishek Singh, a senior vet with nonprofit Friendicoes, an animal welfare organisation, explained the costs involved. “The Animal Welfare Board of India guidelines say costs come to at least Rs 1,600 per dog. The dogs have to be picked up first, taken to the centre and given antibiotics and medicines to prepare for the surgery the next day. And then there’s three days of post operative care. So for five days, you have to pay the costs of fuel for the pickup and drop van, and cover the salaries of the caretaker and doctor, the utility bills and food. So at Rs 700, This just cannot happen properly.”
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The civic body in neighbouring Delhi currently pays NGOs Rs 1,000 per dog for sterilisation.
Since August, the MCG had been planning to scale up vaccination and sterilisation of stray dogs in the wake of orders by the Supreme Court, which first directed authorities to shift them from streets, but then modified that directive, and later asked for the removal of stray dogs from institutions.
The civic body, through its tie-up with two NGOs, earlier supervised work at two animal birth control (ABC) centres, at Baliawas and Kherki Majra, contracts for which expired a couple months ago. According to officials, Gurgaon currently has two dog-catching vans.
Earlier, on October 28, the MCG and Vedanta Group’s Anil Agarwal Foundation had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Under the same, street dogs have to be sterilised and vaccinated at Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres to be set up and operated by the foundation at Begumpur Khatola and Basai, with additional centres to be set up as required to cover all wards. Mobile health clinic vehicles, an animal hospital and crematorium will be constructed in the future, as per the MoU.
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MCG Joint Commissioner Preetpal Singh had earlier told The Indian Express that the civic body was looking to push the number of vaccinations and sterilisations from Rs 300 to 1,200 a month.
When contacted, MCG executive engineer Sunder Sheoran, who awarded the tender to the agency, said it had justified the costs when details regarding the same had been asked for while evaluating the bids. “They had shown us examples and documents of similar work they had carried out in and around Jabalpur. They were among four bidders who had participated. The agency will work separately from the (Vedanta) foundation”.
