Chennai set to miss Supreme Court deadline on stray dogs

Chennai’ civic body is scrambling to comply with a top-court directive that gives an eight-week window for removing stray dogs from hospitals, educational institutions, rail stations and bus depots, yet key preparatory steps remain incomplete.The Supreme Court of India on 7 November ordered states and UTs to identify all relevant institutional premises and secure them with fencing, then remove stray dogs and transfer them—after sterilisation and

- HD Bureau

vaccination—to designated shelters, explicitly forbidding the animals’ return to the same site.

In Chennai, the Greater Chennai Corporation has yet to conduct a census of either the number of stray dogs within these premises or the number of institutions involved, undermining the relocation strategy under the city’s “Vallalar Palluyir Kaapagangal” scheme.

GCC veterinary officer J Kamal Hussain confirmed that partnerships with non-government organisations remain unconfirmed. “We were in talks with them regarding the number of dogs they can accommodate in their shelters. However, we have not received any concrete response,” he said. “Once the capacities are confirmed, the dogs will be removed and shifted to the shelters.”