E-Paper
In Mohali, pet dog bylaws all bark and no bite
While the Mohali municipal corporation had announced its plans to fine violators from June 1, 2022, a year later, not a single challan has been slapped
It has been over two years since the pet dog bylaws were notified in Mohali in August 2021. But only 300 (1.5%) of the over 20,000 pet dogs in the city have been registered so far, a major requirement under the bylaws.
Worse, while the Mohali municipal corporation had announced its plans to fine violators from June 1, 2022, a year later, not a single challan has been slapped.
The owner of a dog kept or brought within the area of Mohali MC has to be registered within seven days of its arrival in the municipal area. The one-time registration fee is ₹100 and an annual fee of ₹100 has also to be paid thereafter.
Before registering the dog, the animal must be vaccinated and a fitness certificate must be obtained from a doctor. These need to be submitted with the registration form at the MC office in Sector 68.
On registration, the owner will be provided a metal token, bearing the name and address of the owner, and has to be displayed on the dog’s collar at all times.
In November 2021, city mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu, while launching the registration process, had said that people not registering their pet dogs will have to pay ₹100 for one-month delay, ₹200 for delay of two months and a penalty of five times the renewal fee will be imposed if they continued to put off the process thereon.
If a pet dog is found loitering, it may be detained and a fee of ₹5,000 will have to be paid for its release, along with ₹500 as daily feed charges. If the dog is repeatedly found straying, the penalty will be ₹10,000.
Similarly, failure to control dangerous pet dogs can result in a fine of up to ₹50 per day and a maximum of ₹2,000.
Satvir Singh Dhanoa, former president of Citizens’ Welfare and Development Forum, Mohali, criticised the civic body for sitting on taking action against violators. “The issue has been raised in the MC House meeting several times, but no concrete step has been taken,” he said.
On MC’s part, medical officer health Dr Sanjeev Kamboj said, “We will be starting a drive for registration of pet dogs very soon. Violators will face action.”
In November 2019, a local court had awarded six-month jail to a woman found guilty of negligence after her pet dog bit a neighbour in April 2018. The court also imposed a fine of ₹1,500 on the convict, Minakshi, who lived on rent in Phase 10.
