New Delhi [India], August 12 : Delhi Mayor Iqbal Singh welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to relocate stray dogs to shelters in Delhi-NCR and assured that the administration will implement the order within the next six weeks.
Speaking with ANI, Iqbal Singh said, "I welcome the Supreme Court's order, as the people of Delhi were facing a lot of problems. We will try our best to implement this order in the next 6 weeks."
On the other hand, animal rights activists have highlighted the 'impracticality' of the judgement, given the lack of animal shelters in the national capital.
Animal rights activist and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi pointed out the lack of facilities to carry out such an order. She emphasised that the government needs at least 3000 shelters and over 1.5 lakh sanitation workers to relocate the dogs.
"There is no single government-run shelter in Delhi. In how many shelters would you put 3 lakh dogs? You don't even have one. To make those shelters, you have to spend at least Rs 15 thousand crore... You'll have to find 3000 places for shelters in places where no one lives. How will you find these many places?... This can't be done in two months... You'll have to employ 1.5 lakh people to just be sanitation workers, which will again cost crores," Maneka Gandhi told ANI.
However, the Delhi Mayor remain optimistic and assured that the government can arrange temporary or permanent shelters.
"We don't have shelter homes, but we have 10 operational sterilisation centres. We can make temporary and permanent shelter homes. MCD and the Delhi government will ensure that no one faces problems due to stray dogs," he said.
Maneka Gandhi said that the order is not "doable" and given "out of anger" towards dogs, suggesting a lack of sensibility.
"It is not a doable order. This is a very strange judgment given by someone who is angry. Angry judgments are never sensible. The mayor says he can do this in six weeks; let him try. There is not a single shelter where they will take the dogs?" she said.
Last night, animal rights activists, rescuers, caregivers, and dog lovers held a protest in front of the India Gate against the Supreme Court order. However, they were immediately stopped and detained by the police.
"They don't want us to talk. These people are throwing everyone into jail. I am being detained because I do the noble work of feeding animals," said a caregiver of dogs while being detained by the police for protesting against the SC order.
Earlier on Monday, a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that all localities should be made free of stray dogs and there should not be any compromise. It also made it clear that no captured animal will be released back on the streets.
It also ordered contempt proceedings against any individual or organisation that attempts to obstruct the authorities from carrying out the capture drive.