Only four days remain for registering cats and dogs with the municipal corporation without incurring penalty. However, only 1,500 residents have enrolled their dogs over the last nine months.
While pets can be registered for a ₹400 annual fee, the civic body will impose a ₹4,000 fine on owners of all unregistered pets after March 31. No cat owners have shown up for registration so far. With the pet registration drive garnering a tepid response, the civic body had extended the last date to register pets by three months. However, as the second deadline draws to a close, the drive has yet again fallen short of the MC’s expectations. The task is all the more daunting for authorities as the MC does not have a count of pets in the city.
The drive had commenced in June 2020 and residents had been initially asked to register their pets till December 31. After residents said they were facing difficulty in registering pets over the MC’s website mcludhiana.gov.in, the MC also commenced offline registration through suvidha kendras.
MC’s senior veterinary officer Dr Harbans Dhalla said, “The civic body has received a good response with around 1,500 residents registering their pets. If any pet is caught without registration, the MC will impose a ₹4,000 fine, besides an additional ₹100 fine per day for the time the pet remains in our custody.”
To register their pets, residents can either go to the MC’s zonal offices or visit mcludhiana.gov.in and fill in necessary details. Registered pets will receive a brass token, to be tied around the pet’s neck. Residents have to collect the tokens from MC’s Zone-A office (MC headquarters) near Mata Rani Chowk.