SC cracks whip on states

It reflects poorly on the nation’s governance that only two states—West Bengal and Telangana—have filed affidavits in the Supreme Court detailing what steps they have taken to curb the stray dog menace.

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The other states and Union Territories have been found wanting, forcing the apex court to summon their chief secretaries on November 3 to explain their inaction. The court has even contemplated holding the session in its auditorium to accommodate all the defaulters—a symbolic but telling commentary on bureaucratic apathy. The Supreme Court has taken a no-nonsense approach to the issue ever since a report appeared in a Delhi newspaper about a girl child being mauled to death by stray dogs. The Bench directed the authorities in the National Capital Region to round up all strays and move them to shelters. Later, the order was refined to let dogs be released after being dewormed, immunised, and sterilised. The logic was humane: to balance compassion with public safety.