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How much will it cost to house Delhi's nearly 10 lakh stray dogs?
A stray dog captured by New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) sits in a cage in a van during a sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination operation in New Delhi on December 21, 2017. File Photo/AFP
The Supreme Court on Thursday (August 14) reserved its order on pleas challenging its earlier directive to round up and relocate all stray dogs in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). A three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria did not grant a stay on the August 11 order of another bench to municipal authorities.
'Everyone who has come to intervene must take responsibility,' Justice Nath orally observed. The bench also asked all intervenors to file affidavits with supporting evidence.
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If the apex court upholds the August 11 order to relocate stray dogs to shelters, how much will it cost? We will explain.
The August 11 SC order on stray dogs
On Monday (August 11), a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ordered the Delhi government, civic bodies and authorities of Noida, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad to start picking up the stray canines and shift them to shelters.
The top court directed the creation of dog shelters to initially accommodate around 5,000 stray dogs, which should be sterilised and immunised. Its directive came in a suo motu case.
The apex court gave authorities eight weeks to create the facilities and install CCTV monitoring to ensure no animals are released back to the streets.
The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) catches a stray dog during a sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination operation in New Delhi on December 21, 2017. File Photo/AFP
It also warned that any person or organisation that obstructs the move will face strict action.
The order came amid a rise in dog bites and cases of rabies. Delhi recorded 26,334 dog bite cases so far this year, compared to 68,090 cases in 2024, PTI reported, citing the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) data.
The Supreme Court's order divided the country, with many animal lovers, including politicians and celebrities, criticising the ruling.
How much will it cost to relocate stray dogs in Delhi?
Delhi is estimated to have 10 lakh stray dogs. If the Supreme Court rules in favour of their relocation to shelters, it could prove quite costly.
Cash-strapped MCD will have to set aside around Rs 11 crore every day to feed and care for the canines, Hindustan Times (HT) reported, citing the civic body's preliminary assessment.
According to officials, at least Rs 110 per day will have to be spent on food, transport, cleaning, medical care, staff, and utilities for each dog.
Animal activists predict that housing so many dogs could cost the Delhi government a whopping Rs 10,000 crore — money it does not have. 'First, the government will have to find 1,000, or maybe 2,000, centres because you can't put so many dogs together — they'll fight. So they'll need to find land first. Then, building each centre would cost at least Rs 4-5 crore, since every facility will require caretakers, feeders, and watchmen,' a dog lover told PTI.
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They also dismissed the directive of the apex court to relocate the stray dogs, calling it 'illogical, illegal, impractical, and inhumane.' The dog lover also said it is impossible to shift lakhs of dogs.
Currently, MCD rounds up and sterilises over 350 canines daily, releasing them after an observation period of 10 days. The sterilisation process costs about Rs 1,000 per dog.
How MCD could implement SC order on stray dogs
MCD officials have started mulling locations where shelters for stray dogs can be built in Delhi. An 80-acre plot at Ghogha Dairy for a large shelter, along with other places such as Dwarka Sector 29, is being considered, reported HT.
The Supreme Court's final order will determine the scale of relocation of the canines. 'If all dogs have to be relocated, resources can never be practically sufficient,' another civic official told the newspaper.
Delhi has not conducted a fresh census of the stray dog population for 16 years. To not carry out enumeration and improve tracking, the civic body is planning to microchip dogs brought to shelters and sterilised.
The chips, costing up to Rs 200 each, would contain about five data points, including the canine's history, vaccination, and sterilisation details. Handheld scanners needed for the process could be priced at Rs 4,000 per piece.
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With inputs from agencies
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