Five new Bengal corporations are racing against time to fill the gaps in stray dog management and comply with the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on November 7. However, several deficiencies remain, particularly regarding the “area marking” required for shelter dogs.
The Supreme Court issued a number of guidelines, including stocking rabies vaccines in hospitals and raising awareness about bite prevention measures and post-bite protocols. The basic directive concerns strays who are sheltering in institutions such as schools, colleges, hospitals and private companies, which must now be removed and relocated to shelters designated by municipalities.
Corporations have just seven weeks to implement all these measures.
Plot identification
KN Ramesh, commissioner of South City Corporation, told The Hindu that they are looking for open spaces to set up new shelters. Pommala North Town Commissioner Sunil Kumar has issued similar instructions to his officials. According to reliable sources, other commissioners are also looking for space.
However, marking land for this purpose is a major issue in cities like Bengaluru, as pointed out by activists and corporate officials who spoke to The Hindu anonymously. Even before the Supreme Court’s directions, the city corporations were looking for land to set up ABC centers but failed repeatedly.
A Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) official noted that in the absence of free space, they would be forced to invest more in rental or other alternatives, which would put a strain on the finances of the new corporations.
Meanwhile, all the corporations held a series of meetings with the Department of Health, Transport and Education to collect data on stray dogs within their jurisdiction. “Circulars have been issued to all institutions listing the stray dogs. Subsequently, we will start infrastructure development, capture and relocation of stray dogs after castration and vaccination,” said Mr. Ramesh.
Against the rules
However, activists believe that the relocation process violates existing laws and the directive is based on a superficial understanding of the problem. Arun Prasad, an animal rights activist, said the Supreme Court’s order was against the Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules, which prohibit the movement of stray dogs from one place to another.
“The directives must be struck down because they are against the law of the land. Moreover, who will monitor that corporations are following all the rules during the relocation process since the Supreme Court has not made this clear?” asked Mr. Prasad.
Mr. Prasad’s concerns arose from past cases of the former Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) handling of neutered dogs.
The main problem was that sellers picked up dogs from one location and released them at another following ABC procedures, breaking the rules. In the current situation, where there is a lack of proper infrastructure for keeping dogs in captivity, sellers could deliberately move them to other streets instead of the designated shelters.
“This move could be a major setback to the government’s vision to make the country rabies-free by 2030. The possibility of bites increases when dogs are moved to different locations due to increased aggression,” he added.
If dogs are relocated to other streets, their numbers will increase in certain areas, leading to food shortages and thus an increase in biting incidents, activists warned.
An illogical approach
Rashmi D’Souza, who runs a private school in South Bengaluru, said the decision to remove dogs from institutions was illogical.
“We have 15 dogs in my school and we have never seen a single bite case. We have created a pond for them to drink water, fed them and vaccinated them,” Ms. Rashmi told The Hindu. “In fact, having dogs on our campus has helped raise awareness among students about how to treat dogs,” she added. According to Rashmi, the Supreme Court should have consulted the institutions whether they wanted to remove the dogs.
Meanwhile, the corporators have directed all educational institutions in the city to appoint a nodal officer to ensure that no dog enters the premises. If dogs are found inside, the nodal officer will be responsible.
Published – 15 Nov 2025 21:52 IST
