Only 2 ABC centres, no shelters: Challenges loom over Gurgaon

Indian Express

3 days ago

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) is planning to scale up vaccination and sterilisation of stray dogs in the wake of a judgment of the Supreme Court, which directed authorities to shift them from streets to shelters.
The civic body, through its tie-up with two NGOs, supervises work at two animal birth control (ABC) centres — at Baliawas and Kherki Majra — according to its Joint Commissioner Preetpal Singh. He told The Indian Express that so far in 2025, over 20,000 dogs have been vaccinated and sterilised at these centres.
'The MCG does not operate dedicated shelters, and treated dogs are returned to their original locations after the procedures,' Singh said.
According to officials, Gurgaon currently has two dog-catching vans. And in Panchkula's Sukhdarshanpur village, the municipal corporation has opened a kennel house with a capacity of 1,000, they said.
'To be honest, right now, we are finding it a little difficult. The commissioner has gone to Chandigarh today for a meeting on implementation of the (SC) order. We will begin identifying land and appropriate buildings soon for the centres. We do not have clarity on whether the shelters should be in an enclosed or an open area,' Singh said.
The MCG is looking to push the number of vaccinations and sterilisations from 300 to 1200 a month, once the number of centres is taken to four – one for each zone – in the coming months.
'The two existing centres are neither big enough, nor do they have sufficient amenities to be turned into shelters. So far, as per the ABC rules, we were putting the dogs back in their neighbourhoods after vaccination, treatment or sterilisation,' Singh also said.
Speaking on the SC order, the Joint Commissioner said that the MCG will comply with it fully.
Data shared by Dr Shalini Goel, a deputy civil surgeon in Gurgaon, meanwhile, highlighted the menace of dog bites being faced by the city. As per the data, between January and May this year, 2,165 cases of stray dog bites, 404 of pet dog bites, and 125 cat bites were reported. In 2024, stray dog bite cases stood at 4,529 and pet dog bites at 218, while 2023 saw 4,685 stray dog bite and 198 pet dog bite cases.
Sudhir Sachdeva (53), the founder of Stand for Animals — an NGO based in Delhi and operating across northern India — told this paper: 'We have been feeding more than 1,000 dogs every day, getting 300 neutered and up to 3,000 vaccinated every year — besides rescuing, treating and adopting others. The centres identified in the NCR will neither be sufficient nor successful. If the right efforts are made towards vaccination and sterilisation, rabies and overpopulation can be fought. But the (SC) order instructing their removal from the streets is not right, and defies the law (ABC rules).'
One cannot penalise all dogs based on only some instances, he said, adding: 'If they are not fed well, not sterilised, not vaccinated, then these things happen. Tackle those issues and their rabies, aggression and hunger will go away.'