11 ABC centres lacking AWBI project recognition in Delhi

According to the rules on the AWBI’s website, a fee of ₹5,000 has to be paid to receive project recognition, which is valid for three years, after which it must be renewed at the same cost.

Despite the mandate under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules 2023 and reiterated in the guidelines for street dog management published by the Delhi government last week, 11 of the 20 ABC centres in the capital currently do not have project recognition from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to carry out ABC programmes. AWBI officials stated that all 20 centres have applied for recognition, which were in varying stages of approval.

Some of the facilities which an ABC centre is required to have are sufficient number of kennels and hospital facilities, CCTV cameras, and a van equipped with surgical infrastructure.

To be sure, the AWBI offers two types of recognition to Animal Welfare Organisations (AWOs). The first is a general recognition; after getting it, the AWO is eligible to receive grants and government support for carrying out its activities. The recognition also helps formalise their operations. The second is project recognition, which is necessary if an AWO wants to carry out ABC programmes.

“We are given initial recognition by the AWBI when we start an NGO working for animal welfare. But you need ABC project recognition to run ABC programmes. Additionally, you cannot get project recognition without first having gotten initial recognition from the AWBI,” said Sanjeev Kumar, a doctor at the Yash Domestic Research Centre on Bela Road, one of the 9 ABC centres which has project recognition from the AWBI.

Owners of ABC centres which do not yet have project recognition cited various reasons for the delay. “Two of the ABC centres run by Friendicoes – the ones in Bijwasan and Tilangpur Kotla – already have project recognition, and the third, in Ghazipur, is in the final stages. The application was filed, and the AWBI team came and inspected it as well, but then everyone became busy due to the Supreme Court’s rulings on stray dogs,” said Geeta Seshamani, the vice president of Friendicoes.

Founder of the Animal India Trust S Y Devi said her ABC centre in Lajpat Nagar had applied for the project recognition in May, but has not received it yet. “They had contacted us for queries over the past few months, and we have sent our response back. However, we are not in a hurry, as I know that the project recognition is a requirement which has started very recently, and many organisations are in the process of applying for it,” she said.

Another ABC centre, run by animal NGO Neighborhood Woof in Timarpur, has not yet received recognition due to being in the process of reconstruction. “We have uploaded all our documents, and are just waiting for the financial audit. We could have applied for the project earlier, but our centre is being reconstructed since February.” said Ayesha Kristina, founder of the NGO. “We had been asking the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to reconstruct the centre since January 2024, as it did not meet the requirements specified by the ABC rules, but they did not, and now we are reconstructing it with our own money.”

Some of the facilities which an ABC centre is required to have are a sufficient number of kennels and hospital facilities, CCTV cameras, and a van equipped with surgical infrastructure which can act as a mobile centre for sterilisation and immunisation.