Kolkata Deputy Mayor blames ‘non-allocation of central funds' for stray dog issue: ‘Civic body manages with its own resources'

Indian Express

17 hours ago

Amidst a national debate on the rising population of stray dogs and an ongoing crisis in Delhi, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Deputy Mayor, Atin Ghosh, has blamed the non-allocation of central funds for the growing stray dog problem across the country.
Speaking to mediapersons, Ghosh said that 'Kolkata has kept its Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme running with its own resources even as other cities, including Delhi, struggle'. He contrasted Kolkata's 'limited but steady' effort with what he described as a defunct ABC programme in the national capital.
Delhi is currently facing a severe stray dog crisis that prompted the Supreme Court to direct authorities to relocate street dogs to shelters, a move animal activists have criticised as inhumane and contrary to the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, which call for sterilisation and return to the animals' original localities. The surge in dog-bite cases in Delhi has intensified the debate over how best to manage street animals.
Ghosh said KMC's work has continued despite financial strain. 'We do not have the resources to neutralize 150 dogs in a day, but every day we neutralize nearly 30 dogs,' he stated. He credited the continued effort for Kolkata's lower incidence of dog-bite cases compared with
other cities.
The deputy mayor outlined KMC's multi-pronged approach to managing the stray population, highlighting an anti-rabies vaccination drive that dates to 2011.
'From 2011, when we started giving anti-rabies vaccines, today in 16 boroughs we have 16 such centres from where this vaccine is given,' he said, adding that the corporation has also set up three vaccination camps across its 144 wards and regularly sterilises female dogs.
Ghosh said the central government had 'completely stopped' its earlier funding for the ABC programme, which previously followed a 60:40 cost-sharing model with states.
He estimated the cost to sterilise one dog at around Rs 800–850, and said KMC keeps costs low because it uses its own infrastructure and salaried staff, while NGOs often charge Rs 2,000 or more for the same procedure. 'We are now doing it absolutely on our money from KMC or with the help of the State government,' he said.
Describing the KMC's on-ground arrangements, Ghosh said, 'We have doctors and para-vets. Doctors perform the operations and leave; for the next four to five days para-vets look after the dogs. We have two compounds, one in Entally
and one in Dhapa.'
He emphasised that the corporation's combination of sterilisation, vaccination, designated feeding protocols and post-operative care is central to its strategy.
Ghosh's comments come at a time when the state has already established a Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for feeding street dogs, aimed at promoting a more organised and humane approach to animal welfare.
An official involved with the SOP said it specifies designated feeding areas and times, acceptable food types and places responsibility for cleaning on caregivers, measures intended to reduce man-animal conflict and avoid dog bites.