Will have to beef up infra, funds, manpower to execute SC order on stray dogs, says MCD

Following the Supreme Court’s order to the Delhi government and the civic agencies in Delhi to catch all stray dogs and relocate them to shelters, Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will do its best to “ensure the safety of the public while also providing safe, clean, and humane shelter facilities for stray animals”. “We will see to it that all necessary steps are taken in a timely and responsible manner,” he said.

MCD’s Standing Committee chairperson Satya Sharma acknowledged “significant challenges” that the civic body is likely to encounter while implementing the apex court’s directions to relocate at least 5,000 stray dogs in the first six to eight weeks.

“The MCD currently lacks adequate infrastructure, funds or manpower for an exercise of this scale. But we will address all these issues in the next Standing Committee meeting,” said Ms. Sharma, adding, “Our focus would be to first target the aggressive and ill dogs.”

She said the municipality will soon launch a dedicated helpline for residents to report stray dogs.

“We will begin [the implementation of the SC order] by identifying land, setting up a team of doctors, and arranging funds,” added Ms. Sharma.

The MCD currently does not have a shelter for stray dogs, said an official. He added that the corporation runs 20 sterilisation centres. However, only 13 are currently functional, while the rest are inoperative due to ongoing repair works, lack of funds and shortfall of employees.

RWAs welcome order

Meanwhile, the United Residents’ Joint Action (URJA), a body of residents’ welfare associations, expressed satisfaction with the court’s directions. “We welcome the order. Now we’ll have to see how well it is implemented,” said URJA president Atul Goyal.