Register your dogs or face MCD action

The Capital's dog owners will now have to ensure that their pets are registered with the respective municipal corporations or be prepared to face prosecution that could even lead to their beloved pet being confiscated.

The Capital's three municipal corporations have decided to launch a crackdown on pet owners who have been flouting norms and sheltering strays. According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, it is mandatory for residents to get their pets registered with the local civic body. The move comes in the wake of the brutal killing of a 7-year-old by stray dogs in South Delhi's Jamia Nagar on Tuesday.

As per the plan, the three civic bodies will rope in NGOs and private agencies to conduct random checks at households and if pets are found unregistered with the corporations, punitive action would be taken against them.

Affidavit

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has submitted an affidavit to the Delhi High Court saying the agency is in the process of conducting a survey of pet dogs for which a notice will be floated, inviting expression of interest from interested eligible non-profit organisations or parties for the survey of strays as well as pet dogs in all its wards.

"We are looking at animal welfare groups who have some experience in conducting survey of pet dogs in metropolitan cities like Bengaluru, Kolkata and Jaipur. The drive will start in different phases. In the city, 90 per cent of the pet owners have not registered their dogs and prefer going to private veterinary doctors instead of visiting our staff, making it difficult to keep a check on the count of pet dogs," said an MCD official.

To register their dog, the owner will have to get anti-rabies vaccination from an MCD-authorised vet in the zonal offices of the respective corporations. The owner will have to bring relevant documents like address proof, anti-rabies vaccination certificate and will have to pay a nominal fee of Rs 50 for the registration token that would be issued immediately. The validity of the token is for a year. South Delhi Mayor Subhash Arya said, "Residents will be given a time period to voluntarily approach MCD officials and get their pets registered. But once the deadline is over, the corporation, with the help of its field officers, will prosecute the defaulters."

Till date the municipal corporations have not been able to efficiently impose the policy as its sensitisation program was only limited to public announcements during its dog vaccination camps where the owners were verbally asked to get their dogs registered. Also, pet owners were penalised only if complaints are received by the corporation. But the corporation is now preparing to take stern steps. Similarly, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has requested for a proposal from different animal welfare groups to submit their recommendations for carrying out the project effectively.

Farhad Suri, Opposition leader in South Delhi Municipal Corporation, said, "The municipal corporations have failed to make dog owners to register their pets with the civic agency is the sheer example of their incompetence. No attempt has been made by the civic body to educate and penalise the defaulters."

(In Association with Mail Today)