Impractical, financially unviable: 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 the stray 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.

The former Union minister said that feeding the impounded dogs would require another Rs 5 crore a week, which she warned could spark a public backlash.

She also questioned the legality of the ruling, pointing out 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.

The BJP leader warned that removing stray dogs could create new problems. “Within 48 hours, three lakh dogs will come from Ghaziabad, Faridabad because there’s food here 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”.

She also cautioned that the order could trigger 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?” Gandhi 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 and 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”.