PIL in Gujarat High Court seeks the city of Ahmedabad free of stray dog menace

Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corproation(AMC) and sought its reply for its failure in controlling bite cases in city besides ineffective implementation of the sterrilisation programme.

After hearing the PIL moved by advocate Kiritkumar Bhatt, saying liberty to life is at stake in Ahmedabad due to AMC’s failure in addressing the issue, first division bench of chief justice R Subhash Reddy and justice Vipl Pancholi issued notice to the Corporation asking it to file a reply before September 16, when the matter is scheduled for further hearing.

A PIL seeks directions to authorities to capture all stray dogs so that citizens can feel safe on city roads.

The petition states that though the Animal Birth Control(ABC) Act, 2001 gives permission to sterilise dogs to control their population, it is yet to be implemented effectively. Had it been implemented, citizens could have been saved from dog bites or rabies. It further states that the last time a dog census was conducted in city was in 2011 when their population was 2,10,000. Citing a local media report, it states that at present there are 2,80,000 dogs in city.

Petitioner advocate Kirtikumar Bhatt from Bopal has demanded immediate capture of nearly 2.80 lakh stray dogs in the city and placing them in dog pounds, with direction not to release them again within city area. He has urged for effective sterilization programme and highlighted how the ongoing sterilization programme has not yielded any result for past few years.

Petitioner’s contention is not just the rise in dog bite cases but also the cases of rabies Citing WHO’s September 2016 report, petitioner submitted that annually 20,000 people die because of rabies in India.

Bhatt has also demanded compensation for victims of stray dog bites on the ground that such a situation arises due to AMC’s failure to contain the stray dog population. He has contended that AMC is duty bound to protect lives of citizens by ensuring safe streets under Article 21, 47 and 19(1)(d) of the Constitution and sections 63(1)(10) and 63(1)(6) of the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporation Act.

The petitioner has requested the court to direct the AMC for effective implementation of the sterilizaion programme and keeping all stray dogs in captivity at one place only.

Bhatt has given details of various incidents from across Gujarat where packs of dogs mauled children and old persons. The petitioner has stated that walking on footpaths and riding a two-wheeler in the city is as dangerous as living in a wildlife sanctuary. “A citizen may be restricted from entering a wildlife sanctuary, but movement within city area should be free from any fetters,” the petition reads.

Dog bite incidents in city in last six years have been over 3 lakh.

Advocate Bhatt has claimed that there were more than 50,000 cases of dog bites reported in the city last year. This makes life in Ahmedabad as unsafe as in any forest area.
The petitioner has also stated that ensuring safe life for a citizen is a duty of government authorities, but they have failed to do so in Ahmedabad by not containing the dog population.

After issuing notice to AMC, the HC posted further hearing on this issue on September 27.