Delhi civic agency discusses plan to handle community dogs

MCD currently operates 20 ABC (animal birth control) centres, which handle around 350 sterilisations per day and 10,000 operations per month

New Delhi

Animal rights activists at the meeting flagged that hospitals to treat animals are only on paper. (Representative photo)

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) subcommittee on community dogs, in a meeting on Monday, discussed a series of steps—ramping up focused sterilisation drives, setting up a shelter in Tehkhand and microchipping animals—officials aware of the matter said. These will form part of the wider Delhi government’s action plan to address issues of community dogs, officials said.

This was the second meeting of the panel, which saw the participation of the animal welfare groups and stakeholders.

The chairperson of the MCD’s Standing Committee, Satya Sharma, said the agency will adopt a holistic approach to strike a balance between animal welfare and public health. “We are taking strong and effective steps in this direction with the support of all agencies concerned and experts to resolve the issue of stray dogs,” she said.

Yogesh Verma, Keshavpuram councillor and committee member, said that the immediate focus was to tackle the issue in the short term, for which zone-wise groups will be constituted with NGOs to improve the sterilisation rate.

MCD currently operates 20 ABC (animal birth control) centres, which handle around 350 sterilisations per day and 10,000 operations per month. The agency said over 270,000 sterilisations have been carried out in the past three months.

In a statement on the day, the committee said ABC centres would be strengthened to ensure timely health checkups, including blood tests and sterilisation, and zone-wise anti-rabies camps will be organised to educate citizens. MCD will also undertake a targeted drive to ensure 70-80% sterilisation levels in wards and set up an institutional centre to house aggressive dogs in southeast Delhi’s Tehkhand. An app-based mechanism will be ensured for the sterilisation process, officials said.

Maneka Gandhi, animal rights activist and former Union minister, who attended the meeting, emphasised the need to upgrade the ABC centres run by the MCD, ensure adequate resources and a robust monitoring mechanism to ensure that sterilisation is conducted smoothly and humanely. Gandhi said that a comprehensive and long-term strategy should be formulated with the collaboration of animal welfare organisations, experienced NGOs, and local citizens.

Animal rights activists at the meeting flagged that hospitals to treat animals are only on paper. They said that these centres do not operate round-the-clock and lack facilities. They also alleged that during sterilisation, the rules regarding the administration of anaesthesia are not followed.

Gauri Maulekhi, a member of People for Animals, said: “The entrenched nexus between several ABC centres and the MCD officials was formally brought to the attention of the chairperson, Standing Committee. In what appears to be a deliberate attempt to evade scrutiny, the MCD’s ABC monitoring committee has not convened since February 2024. ”

Dr SK Dutta, who was representing the central government, flagged the monitoring of sterilisation centres as a serious problem. “In such a situation, when we talk about sterilisation, we should first know the number of stray dogs. they should be counted first,” he said.

An MCD official said that last month, the Delhi government held a meeting to chalk out the strategy on this issue and an action plan was formulated. “We have been asked to ensure 70-80% sterilisation levels in wards so that population of dogs stabilises. A 1,000 sq yard facility will be set up in Tehkhand as an institutional shelter for aggressive dogs, but the current ABC rules do not permit any relocation so such dogs can only be kept under observation for 10 days unless the rules are changed,” the official said.

The urban development ministry has sought reports regarding designated feeding spots from local bodies, and the Animal Welfare Board has been requested to formulate a policy on microchipping dogs. “AWBI, on its part, has recommended CCTV cameras at all critical areas, such as catching points, kennels, ABC units along with monthly audits of sterilisation programmes,” the official said.