‘When It Happened In Paris…': Maneka Gandhi's History Lesson After SC Order On Stray Dogs

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2 days ago

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Maneka Gandhi criticiced the Supreme Court's order to remove stray dogs from Delhi-NCR, calling it impractical, harmful to the ecological balance, and questioned its legality.
Former Union Minister and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi strongly criticised the Supreme Court's directive to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR streets within six to eight weeks, saying that it is 'impractical", 'financially unviable" and 'potentially harmful" to the region's ecological balance.
Gandhi said that the order poses a massive logistical challenge for civic bodies and will only complicate efforts to reduce incidents of dog bites as well as protect the canines.
'You have three lakh dogs in Delhi. To get them all off the roads, you'll have to make 3,000 pounds, each with drainage, water, a shed, a kitchen, and a watchman. That will cost about Rs 15,000 crore. Does Delhi have Rs 15,000 crore for this?" she said in an interview with news agency PTI.
Feeding the impounded dogs, she added, would require another Rs 5 crore a week, which could spark a public backlash.
Gandhi also highlighted that there is no government-run dog shelter in Delhi where the stray dogs could be kept. 'There is no single government-run shelter in Delhi. In how many shelters would you put 3 lakh dogs? You don't even have one."
She also questioned the legality of the ruling, noting that a different bench had passed a 'balanced judgment" on the same issue last month.
'Now, after one month, a two-member bench gives another judgment which says ' sabko pakdo ' (pick up all). Which judgment is valid? Obviously, the first one, because that's a settled judgment," Gandhi said.
Gandhi further warned of unintended consequences, saying that removing strays could create new ecological problems.
'Within 48 hours, three lakh dogs will come from Ghaziabad, Faridabad, because there's food in Delhi. And once you remove the dogs, monkeys will come on the ground… I've seen this happen at my own house," she said.
Referring to 1880s Paris, Gandhi said that when the city administration removed dogs and cats, the city was overrun with rats, calling dogs 'rodent control animals."
A large-scale slaughter of dogs and cats was allegedly carried out in the 1880s to control rabies in Paris. But the lack of animals on the streets reportedly caused a quick surge in the number of rats in the city, spreading from sewers and alleys to people's homes.
Gandhi argued that the government already had a roadmap agreed upon after extensive consultations to control the dog population and reduce biting incidents through stricter enforcement of sterilisation, anti-rabies and distemper vaccinations, banning relocation, and monitoring animal birth control (ABC) centres.
"If the relocation stops, the biting will stop," she said, blaming current relocation practices for much of the violence.
She recommended that ABC centres operate within designated zones, be run only by Animal Welfare Board-recognised entities, and be monitored by committees of local residents.
The Supreme Court's Order
While hearing a suo motu case into rising dog-bite incidents in the national capital region, the apex court on Monday issued strong directions to the Delhi civic body to round up stray dogs, sterilise them, and move them permanently to shelters, noting that the order should be enforced strictly to make New Delhi and its adjoining National Capital Region (NCR) safe.
Calling the stray dog menace 'extremely grim", the top court ordered the authorities to permanently relocate all strays from streets to shelters 'at the earliest", and warned of strict action against anyone obstructing the drive.
The bench also instructed civic bodies to build shelter capacity for at least 5,000 dogs as an immediate step, hire staff for sterilisation and vaccination, install CCTV in shelters, create a helpline for bite reports, and consider a dedicated task force.
This ruling applies to Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad, and covers both sterilised and unsterilised animals.
(With inputs from agencies)
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