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Chandigarh residents hail HC ruling on dog bite compensation
Chandigarh residents have hailed the HC’s ruling that the state government will be primarily responsible for paying compensation to victims of dog bites
City residents have hailed the Punjab and Haryana high court’s ruling that the state government will be primarily responsible for paying compensation to victims of dog bites and that the minimum financial assistance will be ₹10,000 per tooth mark.
Welcoming the court order, Chandigarh Resident Associations’ Welfare Federation (CRAWFED) chairman Hitesh Puri said, “Chandigarh reports hundreds of stray dog bite cases every year. Since the government makes the dog bylaws and rules that restrict them from relocating stray dogs from their areas, their upkeep is also the responsibility of the government. Also, MC puts little effort in terms of dog sterilisation programme. With this court ruling, MC will definitely speed up the work.”
Priya Verma, a resident of Sector 19, who was bitten by a stray dog in September, said, “People often feed stray dogs in residential areas and public parks, and when dogs feel that humans are a threat to their food, they become aggressive and bite. MC must make dog parks, and sterilise and vaccinate each and every dog, besides penalising the ones feeding dogs in residential areas. Since MC’s approach must be more proactive, they are responsible for providing financial assistance to dog bite victims.”
Meanwhile, Shaurya Agrawal, a member of PETA India, said, “Compensation may be appreciated by dog bite victims and their families to some extent, but it does not address the root cause of the issue. Community dogs must be sterilised, which has been a requirement for 22 years, previously mandated under the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001, now replaced by Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023. During sterilisation, dogs are also vaccinated against rabies, and if all municipalities took this lawful duty seriously, there would hardly be any stray dogs on the roads today.”
