The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the stray dog issue, with no date yet announced. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjari reserved its decision after hearing final arguments presented by various states, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). The court had taken suo motu cognizance of the stray dog problem.
During the hearing, the court urged the NHAI to develop a special app through which the public can report stray animal sightings along highways. The court asked, “Why don’t you create an app so that anyone who sees an animal can take a photo and upload it? That will also give you sightings.” The NHAI lawyer told the court that they will soon develop such an app.
According to Bar & Bench, during the hearing, the AWBI lawyer informed the court that there are only 76 recognized sterilization centers in the country, while data from various states indicates that there are 883 stray dog sterilization centers. The lawyer stated that more than 250 applications are pending registration, but the 883 centers that are currently operating have not yet been recognized by the AWBI.
When questioned by the court about the centers’ lack of recognition, the AWBI stated that the sterilization data was not as accurate as stated. They also expressed concern that funds allocated for sterilization were being taken by individuals who did not perform the work. They pointed out that Uttarakhand has a low dog population, but sterilizations are high there. This suggests a scam. The court has ordered a speedy decision on the pending application.
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