Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to set up veterinary health department

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to introduce a separate veterinary health department on the lines of public health department soon. The proposal was approved unanimously by the civic general body on Monday. Every unit pertaining to animal health and welfare and which comes under the civic body, including clinics for pet dogs and strays, animal birth control, dog control office, dog licences, animal crematorium, hospitals, research centre for zoonotic diseases and animal impounding, will now fall under the purview of a single body, which is the veterinary health department.

“The BMC will hire seven veterinary doctors on a contractual basis. Of them, two posts will be reserved for women. They will be paid a remuneration of Rs 35,000 each,” said a senior civic official. According to the Veterinary Council of India 1984 Act, all animal-related activities should be handled by veterinary doctors. Accordingly, the BMC has decided to form the separate public veterinary department. Veterinary activities related to cattle pond, dog control, treatment, among others will also be brought under the veterinary department.

Under the ambit of this department, the BMC has planned to set up pet clinics and cemeteries for animals. The civic body has also decided to hand over the dog sterilisation programme to Deonar abattoir, the experts of which will monitor the scheme. There is Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital in Parel, which treats animals in the city. There are a few private pet clinics, but they are not affordable to common people.

According to the 2014 census, Mumbai is home to over 95,000 stray dogs, of whom as many as 69,239 have already been sterilised. However, experts claimed that still many dogs/strays had not been counted in the census and that BMC must take the activity more seriously.