New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday directed civic authorities in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) to immediately catch and sterilise stray dogs and relocate them permanently to shelters. In a stern directive, the court said the order must be implemented without compromise.
The top court specified that if any individual or organisation opposed the process, it would proceed to take action against any such resistance, noting that immediate steps are necessary to address the menace of dog bites leading to rabies.
“NCT Delhi, MCD, NMDC shall at earliest start picking up stray dogs from all localities from more particularly vulnerable localities and cities. How to do it is for the authorities to look into and if they have to create a force, do it earlier. However, this should be the first and foremost exercise to make all localities free of stray dogs,” a bench of JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan said.
Calling it a “serious situation”, the court affirmed, “There should not be any compromise in undertaking any exercise”. “If any individual or organisation comes in the way of picking stray dogs or rounding them up, we will proceed to take action against any such resistance,” the court added, while adjudicating a case it had taken on its own last month.
The court said that the order was not “for our self-interest, but for the people at large,” adding that “no sentiments of any nature can be involved”. “Infants and young children, not at any cost, should fall prey of rabies. The action should inspire confidence that they can move freely without fear of being bitten by stray dogs,” it remarked.
In late July, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of a news report highlighting the alarming rise in rabies cases and deaths, particularly among children and the elderly, due to stray dog bites in and around Delhi. The court termed the issue “deeply disturbing” and had flagged the failure of civic authorities to control the situation.
Delhi’s Development Minister Kapil Mishra said the government will implement the top court’s directives in a time-bound. He added that the verdict will pave the way to free the city from the fear of rabies and stray animals.