The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has been directed to submit a monthly report on stray dogs in the district to the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), which will forward the data to the Centre, officials said.
As per the directions, the monthly report will include details of actions taken by MCG, vaccination and sterilisation of stray dogs, complaints received from residents, the number of employees deployed for the work and other related measures.
Hariom, a junior engineer and nodal officer at the MCG, said the first report would be submitted for December. “We will be submitting our first report for December, which will include comprehensive data on stray dogs in the district. The report will cover details such as the number of dogs vaccinated and sterilised, complaints received from residents, and the personnel deployed for managing these activities,” he said.
Hariom said Vedanta Private Limited, which has been assigned the work of sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs, will officially take over operations on Thursday. “The company will be responsible for carrying out vaccination and sterilisation drives across the district and will also assume management of the animal birth control (ABC) centres located in Begumpur Khatola and Basai,” he added.
Residents and animal rights activists, however, said that despite repeated administrative measures, there has been little visible change on the ground. “Agencies must follow the Animal Birth Control rules while handling stray dogs in any community. But are they actually following these rules? If we check, many of the workers won’t even be aware of what the regulations entail,” said Ashna Sachdeva, a resident of Sector 31.
Hariom said helpline numbers of the agencies will soon be made public to allow residents to raise grievances. “If their issues are not addressed, they can call 94684 84840 at any time,” he said.
A senior MCG official said improvement would take time. “With Vedanta on board, operations are expected to run more smoothly. Sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs will accelerate, and residents’ grievances are likely to be addressed more efficiently,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Sohna Municipal Corporation will set up 45 feeding points across the district. An official said around 10 feeding points are already functional, and locations are being identified as per ABC rules. “There are at least 800 stray dogs in the area, and through these designated spots, residents will have specific locations to feed them,” she said.