New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed Delhi-NCR authorities to permanently relocate all stray dogs to shelters, citing an 'extremely grim' situation of dog bites causing rabies, especially among children. It ordered the creation of shelters for 5,000 dogs within 6–8 weeks and warned of strict action, including contempt, against any obstruction.Former Union Minister Vijay Goel, who has campaigned against the stray menace through his NGO Lok Abhiyan, welcomed the verdict. He said, "We have been running this campaign for two years. The court has accepted all our demands. We should welcome this and implement this across the country."Animal rights activists condemned the decision. Maneka Gandhi termed it 'irrational' and 'stemming from anger', alleging it was based on an incorrect newspaper report. She said, "Judgement seems to have been given without any rational thought. It's a judgment stemming from anger. And the odd part is that it's based on an incorrect newspaper clip. Unfortunately, in that case, the child was not attacked and killed by dogs. The parents have confirmed that the child died of meningitis."Gauri Mulekhi said the court heard a 'one-sided narrative' and questioned the practicality of removing 10 lakh dogs without infrastructure. She questioned, "What would the ecosystem be like if 10 lakh dogs were suddenly removed? How will those dogs be kept? What kind of infrastructure and manpower would be required? Or whether it would be scientifically tenable to do such a thing?"Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta assured compliance, promising a 'planned scheme' to provide relief to residents. "The order that the Supreme Court has given is important for us. We have only one goal, to give relief to the people of Delhi. We will make a scheme, work towards it, and give benefits to the people of Delhi," she said.Kerala minister M B Rajesh said the order exposes the 'impracticality' of Animal Birth Control rules and urged amendments. According to data from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and various surveys, the city has an estimated stray dog population of around 10 lakh, with 26,334 dog bite cases reported so far this year. (With PTI Inputs)
