Supreme Court Mandate on Community Dogs
On November 7, 2025, the Supreme Court mandated the immediate removal of all community dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, and transport hubs. This mandate necessitates local bodies to capture, sterilize, and house these animals permanently in shelters, without releasing them back.
Challenges and Economic Implications
- There is no economic blueprint to support this mandate within state budgets.
- India's 15.5 lakh educational institutions would require relocation of approximately 1.5 crore dogs, reaching over 2 crore when including other specified areas.
- Housing these dogs would necessitate constructing over 1 lakh new shelters, considering a standard shelter capacity of 200 animals each.
Logistical and Economic Constraints
- India faces infrastructural challenges, including:
- 1.19 lakh schools lacking electricity connections.
- 61,540 schools without functional toilets.
- The PM Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) took 10 years to provide 93.61 lakh homes, illustrating the scale of the challenge.
- Minimum housing standards require at least 42 sq ft per dog, demanding nearly 20,000 acres of land.
Financial Burden
- The recurring revenue expenditure for feeding 2 crore dogs at ₹40 per day amounts to ₹80 crore daily, aggregating to over ₹29,000 crore annually.
- This annual cost is more than twice the budget for the Department of Space and thrice the allocation for Ayushman Bharat for 2025-26.
Feasibility and Alternatives
- The mandate overlooks the science, common sense, and opportunity costs involved.
- Funds for this project are unavailable, and the cost merely covers feeding, excluding shelter construction and healthcare.
- Alternatives like the implementation of Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules 2023 are more feasible, humane, and fiscally prudent.
- ABC programs stabilize dog populations at a fraction of the mass confinement cost.
In conclusion, a lack of resources and an unrealistic financial mandate risk ineffective implementation of the Supreme Court's directive. A focus on ABC programs offers a legally compliant and cost-effective solution. ```
