Maneka Gandhi slams SC order on stray dogs

New Delhi: Animal rights activist and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi on Monday strongly criticised the Supreme Court’s order on stray dogs in Delhi-NCR, calling the directive “impractical”, “financially unviable” and “potentially harmful” to the region’s ecological balance.

The apex court, terming thestray dog menace “extremely grim”, ordered the Delhi government and civic bodies to start picking up strays from all localities and keep them in shelters, warning of strict action against anyone obstructing the drive.

Gandhi said that the scale of the task makes it “unworkable”.

“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 told PTI.

Feeding the impounded dogs, she added, would require another Rs 5 crore a week, which could spark a public backlash.

Gandhi alleged the case was taken up “for absolutely no reason” based on a fake newspaper report of dogs attacking a girl who later died “unfortunately, of meningitis, as her parents have confirmed”.

She suggested the order may have been passed “in anger” and without considering feasibility.

The former Union minister also questioned the legality of the ruling, noting that a different Supreme Court bench had passed a “balanced judgment” on the same issue just a month earlier.

“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.

Warning of unintended consequences, she said removing strays could invite other 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. In Paris in the 1880s, when they removed dogs and cats, the city was overrun with rats,” she said, calling dogs “rodent control animals”.

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.

Gandhi also flagged the role of unregulated pet dog sales, claiming that “70 per cent of bites are from pet dogs and 30 per cent from street dogs”.

“This government was extremely serious about adopting our 14-point plan. Within two years, we could have fewer dogs, no biting, and a happy coexistence between humans and animals,” she said. “Now this judgment derails everything.”

The BJP leader also cautioned that the order could spark street clashes.

“To get them into pounds, you will have a pitched battle with feeders in every street because they will beat you up and make the dogs run away. Why are we destabilising Delhi?” she said.

The Delhi government has indicated it will follow the court’s order, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta saying the stray dog menace has assumed “gigantic proportion” and assuring that the government will soon come up with a policy to implement the order in a planned manner.

Delhi Development Minister Kapil Mishra said the move will “free the city from the fear of rabies and stray animals”.

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