Noida authority to act against those seeking donations for animal shelter

Currently, the shelter houses around 700 dogs besides 300 other animals — cows, bulls, horses and donkeys.

The Noida authority has decided to take legal action against those who are seeking donations through online campaigns for the upkeep of Noida animal shelter in Sector 94.

The authority officials said Rs 16 lakh is allocated per month for operations of the animal shelter. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Currently, the shelter houses around 700 dogs besides 300 other animals — cows, bulls, horses and donkeys.

Officials said that some persons are seeking donations to improve the upkeep of the government-run shelter through social networking sites, including Facebook.

“We have come to know that some so-called animal activists have started a campaign under which they are seeking donations not only in India but also at the international level to help run the Noida animal shelter. Some activists have even issued their bank account details appealing people to donate money to treat injured animals at the Noida shelter,” said RK Mishra, an additional chief executive officer of the Noida authority.

The activists, in their messages, had claimed that the government has stopped paying salary to the staff working at the shelter and is also not supplying required food for the animals.

The authority officials said Rs16 lakh is allocated per month for operations of the animal shelter.

“We spend Rs 5.5 lakh for running the shelter and Rs 6.5 lakh in the salary of the staff working at the shelter. Adequate food, medicines and other required material are also provided,” said Mishra.

The Noida authority chief executive officer, Alok Tandon, on Wednesday inspected the shelter, which was earlier run by members of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty against Animals (SPCA). He directed officials to take better care of the shelter.

“In June, Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate terminated SPCA’s contract with the Noida authority. Since then, the authority has been managing operations on its own. Now, we have selected an expert, Dr Sunil Chawla, who has taken over the control of this facility,” said Raghunandan Yadav, senior project engineer, Noida authority’s health department.