New Delhi, Oct 5 The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the municipal authorities here to coordinate with their counterparts in Lucknow and hold sterilisation training camps for their officials at the earliest and expedite the process of sterilising stray dogs in the national capital.
A bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary also asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to prepare a roadmap for sterilisation of dogs, based on the suggestions given by the amicus curiae, and place it on record for the court's approval.
"Amicus curiae Gauri Maulekhi informed that on her persuasion, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has assured her that their personnel would come to Delhi and hold a 15-day camp for training veterinarians, para-veterinarians and dog catchers in accordance with the module prescribed by the Animal Welfare Board of India as and when MCD/ NDMC indicate the location and schedule," the court noted in the order.
It added, "NDMC and MCD are directed to coordinate with the LMC and hold camp for this training as early as possible."
The court was informed that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and MCD have successfully organised sterilisation camps in two wards/ circles.
It asked them to organise the camps in two more wards and granted four weeks to file an affidavit, stating that all the stray dogs in the respective wards have been sterilised.
In order to expedite the process of sterilisation and to carry out the direction issued by the Supreme Court on removing stray dogs from public spaces, the high court noted that, on its insistence, the officers of the NDMC and MCD have assured that the process of sterilisation will speed up and camps will be held in the four wards with corresponding animal birth control (ABC) centres of the following zones.
The amicus also placed on record a roadmap for the implementation of the pilot sterilisation camp along with a report. The court granted four weeks to the MCD counsel to give comments or suggestions on the report.
The bench was hearing a suo motu case initiated by the high court pursuant to the top court's directions passed on May 19.
Earlier, the high court asked the Delhi government to file its response on implementing the action plan for the elimination of rabies in stray dogs in the national capital.
The bench had called for striking a balance between the interests of "dog lovers" and "dog haters", stating that every day there are cases of dog bites and it is the common man who is troubled. It had said that monkey menace was an "even more serious" issue.
On May 19, the Supreme Court had directed the state governments and Union Territories to augment infrastructure to deal with stray dogs and other animals, and asked all the high courts to register a suo motu case to ensure compliance with its August 22, 2025 and November 7, 2025 directions.
The top court issued a slew of directions to deal with the "alarming rise" in dog bite incidents within institutional areas like educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations.
While dealing with a suo motu case over the stray dog menace, the apex court ordered forthwith relocation of stray canines to designated shelters after due sterilisation and vaccination.
It also directed the authorities to ensure the removal of all cattle and other stray animals from state highways, national highways and expressways.
