Delhi civic body to constitute panel on community dogs

The issue was raised at Wednesday’s standing committee meeting by councillor Rajpal Singh, who flagged the shortage of shelters in the city

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will form a committee within the next two to three weeks to draft a new policy on community dogs, said Satya Sharma, chairperson of the MCD’s standing committee on Wednesday.

MCD committee in operation on Wednesday. (HT)

The issue was raised at Wednesday’s standing committee meeting by councillor Rajpal Singh, who flagged the shortage of shelters in the city. “There are only 20 operational centres. Usually, when a dog bites someone, the animal is picked up and dropped in a village—but this doesn’t solve the issue,” he said. Singh also noted that while ₹1.2 crore has been spent on managing community dogs, there hasn’t been enough action on the ground.

He suggested that each municipal zone should have a shelter and a committee should identify potential sites.

Sharma, speaking to HT after the meeting, confirmed that the upcoming committee will examine multiple aspects, including shelter infrastructure, protocols for housing dogs, and rules around euthanasia.

“Before finalising the committee, we will inspect all 20 operational centres to assess their functioning,” she said. These centres, run by various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), primarily handle sterilisation and euthanisation. Sterilised dogs are kept for two days and then released.

However, animal welfare groups have cautioned against expanding shelter capacity. Ambika Shukla, trustee of People for Animals, said, “Putting healthy dogs in shelters is short-sighted and impractical. It’s expensive and increases the risk of disease outbreaks like distemper and mange due to overcrowding.”

Shukla advocated for strict adherence to Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, which mandate sterilisation, vaccination, and returning dogs to their original location. “We need more ABC centres with better oversight. Currently, if a dog dies during the sterilisation process, no centre is held accountable,” she said, adding that encouraging communities to feed stray dogs can also reduce rabies cases and improve public safety.