With ‘8 lakh’ stray dogs in Delhi and no govt shelters, how SC order will impact official policy

“We have been focusing on the stray dog menace and have held several meetings but now, with the apex court’s order, that becomes irrelevant as the context completely changes… The government will implement the order but it is not possible to pick up the dogs and move them out of the city or to the shelters right now,” the official said.

The official said that as the government does not have any shelter of its own, the implementation of the court order may take longer than eight weeks. While the government has hospitals, all the shelters are currently run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In its order on Monday, the Supreme Court asked the authorities to make shelters to house stray dogs, saying they should first start work on a shelter for 5,000-6,000 dogs in the next six to eight weeks. It sought a report within eight weeks on the creation of infrastructure.

Meanwhile, hours after the Supreme Court’s directions, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) ordered that dogs admitted to its hospitals and other animal sterilisation centres should not be released after recovery. The corporation has also ordered an audit of the existing facilities to house dogs temporarily.

“We have asked the centres not to release the dogs there for sterilisation. We are discussing plans regarding building additional shelters, but this will take time. As of now, we have asked the centres to submit how many dogs they can accommodate. Dogs will also be housed in 77 units of vet hospitals run by the MCD. We will start picking up the dogs according to the available facility,” said Dr S K Yadav, project in-charge, Animal Programme, MCD.

He said the corporation picked up 200 dogs from the Red Fort area ahead of Independence Day celebrations, and these would not be released now. “The estimated population of stray dogs in the city is around 8 lakh. We will follow the SC’s orders,” he said, adding that they would first focus on vulnerable areas like schools, colleges, hospitals and public spaces.

Delhi Development Minister Kapil Mishra is scheduled to hold a meeting with the concerned departments and officials on Wednesday to discuss the matter. “We are fully committed to abide by the orders and directions issued by the Supreme Court. We have been working on this issue proactively, to address it on the ground from day one, studying the legal and technical obstacles that existed in the previous system,” he said.

He said the government would implement the order in a planned manner, keeping both the public as well as the dog lovers in mind. “Our focus, while implementing this order, will be the welfare of animals,” he said.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, meanwhile, said the “stray dog menace” had assumed “gigantic proportions” and assured that her government would bring in a policy soon. “The people of Delhi have been worried about the stray dog menace for years… our only duty is to give them relief… Today, this problem has taken a gigantic form… it is very important for the government to resolve it with honesty and integrity,” she said.

“… we are looking into what the previous governments did… Since our government was formed, it is continuously discussing the issue and holding meetings to provide relief to the people,” the CM said.