Year on, civic body to resume stray dog sterilisation in city

Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 17

Over a year after its previous project came to an end, the Municipal Corporation will finally allocate tender for sterilisation of stray dogs in the city to a shortlisted bidder. This comes after the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently stalled the Animal Welfare Board of India’s circular necessitating animal welfare organisations to seek fresh permissions for carrying out animal birth control programmes in each local area.

The lack of birth control programmes has led to a worsened human-dog conflict. As per data collected by the Health Department, as many as 13,023 dog bite cases were reported in the district last year.

Bidder picked, tender to be allocated soon

We had shortlisted a bidder to carry out the dog sterilisation programme in the city. We have now received permission from the state government to allocate the tender and begin the work. The tender will be allocated to the lowest bidder soon. —Aaditya Uppal, MC commissioner

The MC has failed to carry out a sterilisation programme on a regular basis for long. Before this, the corporation had issued a tender and started the programme in 2018, which came to an end in January 2022. The MC had spent Rs 25.72 lakh on the programme and sterilised 3,062 dogs.

By then, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had made it mandatory for the animal welfare organisations to seek fresh permissions for carrying out animal birth control programmes in each local area. On the other hand, the MC’s tender for the purpose had lapsed for three consecutive times. A bidder was selected only on the fourth bid. But ever since the selection of the lowest bidder, the corporation has failed to begin the process because of awaited permissions from the AWBI.

A team from the welfare board then paid a visit to the city in December last year. While the board’s report was still awaited, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in an interim order in January stalled the board’s circular necessitating animal welfare organisations to seek fresh permissions.

Corporation Commissioner Aaditya Uppal said, “We had shortlisted a bidder to carry out the dog sterilisation programme in the city. We have now received permission from the state government to allocate the tender and begin the work. The tender will be allocated to the lowest bidder soon.”

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