FRONT PAGE | Thursday, January 8, 2009 | Email | Print | 
Dogs get paid more than you for sterilisation
Durgesh Nandan Jha | New Delhi
It's more fruitful to plan the family of a dog than that of a man. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) pays Rs 445 per dog to non-Government organisations (NGOs) as against a minimum of Rs 250 offered by Government agencies for sterilisation of a person.
According to reports presented by the MCD on Wednesday, there is a provision of Rs 200 lakh to run the sterilisation programme for stray dogs through different NGOs, of which Rs 1,14,00,985 was spent in the 2007-08 fiscal year. For the fiscal year 2008-09, the allocation is yet to be made. However, as per the civic body's admission, the practice has barely helped as the numbers of stray dogs continues to increase.
According to the MCD report, Rs 1,22,62,552 were spent in 2005-06 for dog sterilisation, Rs 18,00,345 in 2006-07 and Rs 1,14,00,985 in 2007-08. "The rates include charges for transportation to a veterinary clinic and back to the locality where the dog was caught, charges of the vet and post-operation measures taken by the NGO concerned," said Vijender Gupta, chairman of the MCD Standing Committee. He said 10 NGOs were currently working for the civic body's sterilisation programme and that they were paid after crosschecking the number of dogs sterilised. "Officials of the MCD and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) jointly inspect the workplace of these NGOs and count the genitals to ensure the number is correct," said Gupta.
High-ranging expenses and further plans of the MCD to check the number of stray dogs in the Capital notwithstanding, the civic body is yet to conduct a census. "Currently, we do not have any record on how many stray dogs are there in the Capital. Wildlife SOS, the agency deputed for the purpose, will submit the report in six months," said MCD Commissioner KS Mehra. He said the counting was delayed due to the rainy season since the stray dogs hide away to avoid rains, making the estimation of dog numbers difficult.
The civic body had in 2007 sent its officials to Ahmedabad to study the CNVR (Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release) model followed by the municipal corporation there. They had vowed to control the population of stray dogs before the Commonwealth Games of 2010. "An inquiry should be conducted on the reasons behind the unchecked growth of dog population.
In my area, a dog taken by an NGO for sterilisation a few months back has given birth to four puppies. How is this possible?" alleged Anita Babbar, an MCD councillor.
The information available on the number of vasectomies (male sterilisation) and tubectomies (female sterilisation) carried every year in the Capital is worse. Though the programme was started in the late 1970s, the Government has not been able to attract many people for this cause. Cases of vasectomy are almost extinct. "In the last one year, not more than 1,000 persons have been sterilised in the Capital; what to say of the other States where social stigmas are rampant," said a Health Department official.
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