New Delhi [India], August 22 : Various political parties on Friday expressed happiness and welcomed the Supreme Court's revised order, stating that the previous order was not only "inhumane" but also "against the humanitarian cause".
Shiv Sena (UBT) Priyanka Chaturvedi emphasised the importance of neutering stray dogs, immunising them, and providing designated feeding areas.
"I welcome the Supreme Court's order, noting that the previous order was not only inhumane but also against the humanitarian cause that everyone believes in...It was a conflict...It is important that they (stray dogs) are neutered, immunised, and have designated feeding areas. I am sure everyone will agree with this. The Supreme Court has corrected a wrong judgment given earlier," Priyanka Chaturvedi told ANI.
Aam Aadmi Party Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj hit out at Delhi government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi over the issue. He welcomed SC's decision stating that it is MCD's responsibility to catch the stray dogs and immunise them. He said that the MCD has not immunised dogs on time.
"The remark made by the Supreme Court is very important; the MCD did not do its work. The MCD has to do its work. It is MCD's responsibility to catch the stray dogs and immunise them. The Delhi CM and Mayor, both coming from the BJP, have to work on this... The immunisation of the dogs has not been done by the MCD on time," Bharadwaj told ANI.
Congress leader Abhishek Dutt also thanked the Supreme Court over the decision and said that during his tenure in the MCD he used to raise the issue in the house. He mentioned that MCD spent crores of rupees in the name of dog sterilisation; however, it ended up in a "scam".
"Many thanks to the Supreme Court for giving a very good judgment and this was also the rule... During my tenure at the Municipal Corporation, we would raise the issue in the House: how could the MCD sterilise stray dogs without staff? In the last 12-14 years, MCD has spent crores of rupees in the name of sterilisation - it was a very big scam," Dutt told ANI.
He noted that aggressive dogs infected with rabies should be handled accordingly. Dutt further said that if the apex court had not taken an interest in the matter, then there would have been many problems in Delhi. The Congress leader further demanded investigation into the procedure of the MCD doing sterilisation, stating that they inject "water".
"The dog that has rabies or is aggressive should definitely be removed. But the one is not doing anything to anyone, where will you take them?... If the Supreme Court had not taken an interest in this, there would have been so many issues in Delhi. The police picked up the protesters and beat them in the last 14-15 days and tortured the women... The MCD, which sterilises by injecting water, should also be investigated to find out how many crores of rupees these officers have swindled in the name of these innocent dogs. Very strong action should be taken on that too," the Congress leader said.
Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Nirupam also lauded SC's directive and mentioned that he welcomes the sentiments of the people who love dogs. He said that the stray dogs are a cause of problem for the people.
"We welcome the Supreme Court's order regarding stray dogs. We also welcome the sentiments of people who love dogs, but stray dogs roaming the streets often cause a lot of trouble for people... To protect people from aggressive dogs, the Supreme Court has said that such dogs should be vaccinated, sterilised and then released back," Sanjay Nirupam said.
The Supreme Court on Friday modified its earlier order of August 11 regarding the management of stray dogs in Delhi and NCR (National Capital Region), directing that the animals will be released back into the same area after sterilisation and immunisation.
The court clarified that stray dogs infected with rabies or showing aggressive behaviour will not be released back and will be kept separately.
"Stray dogs will be released back to the same area after sterilisation and immunisation, except those infected with rabies or exhibiting aggressive behaviour," the court ordered.
The court ordered that no public feeding of dogs will be allowed, and dedicated feeding spaces for stray dogs to be created. It ordered the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) to create feeding areas in municipal wards.
The Court noted that animal lovers can move application before MCD for adoption of dogs.
The court expanded the ambit of its proceedings on menace of stray dogs and issued notice to Secretaries of department of Animal Husbandry all states and Union Territories and sought their response on framing of national policy to deal with the problem.
It also directed its Registry to seek information from all High Courts where petitions are pending on issue of stray dogs and orders that all such matters will be transferred to the top court.
Hailing the top court's verdict in this matter, Supreme Court lawyer and petitioner Nanita Sharma called it a "balanced order." She stated that all matters regarding dog issues pending in all courts in all states will be brought under one court.
"This is a balanced order. The court has involved all states in this case. All matters regarding dog issues pending in all courts in all states will be brought under one. They have said that regular dogs should be sterilised and aggressive dogs should be put in pounds/ animal shelters. The court has ruled that MCD will establish designated feeding areas for dogs..." Nanita Sharma told reporters.
On August 11, the top court ordered that all localities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad 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.