The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has raised concerns over the massive financial burden of relocating the city’s nearly one million stray dogs, following the Supreme Court’s recent directive. Initial estimates suggest that the daily cost of sheltering all dogs could reach ₹11 crore, straining the civic body’s already fragile finances.
The Current Sterilisation Model
At present, the MCD captures and sterilises over 350 stray dogs daily, keeping them for a 10-day observation period before releasing them. Each sterilisation costs approximately ₹1,000 per dog. This program has been the city’s primary method of managing the stray dog population, but the new directive demands a shift toward large-scale sheltering.
The Cost of Relocation
According to officials, caring for a single dog in a shelter—including food, medical care, transport, cleaning, and staff costs—would require at least ₹110 per day. With an estimated one million stray dogs in Delhi, this amounts to an astronomical ₹11 crore every day. Animal rights activists argue that such costs highlight the impracticality of mass relocation and reinforce the need for alternative approaches.
Supreme Court’s Directive
The Supreme Court recently ordered that Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad each build shelters capable of housing at least 5,000 stray dogs within six to eight weeks. The order also directed civic authorities to prioritise dogs involved in repeated biting incidents or those suffering from serious illness.
Identifying Shelter Sites
The MCD has begun considering potential locations, including an 80-acre site at Ghogha Dairy and land in Dwarka Sector 29. Officials, however, emphasised that the actual scale of relocation will depend on the Supreme Court’s final order. With the civic body already burdened by unpaid contractor bills, staff salaries, and loan repayments, the proposed project threatens to deepen financial distress.
A Financial and Ethical Dilemma
While some states, like Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, have backed the Supreme Court’s ruling citing public safety, others, including Karnataka and West Bengal, have labelled mass relocation as “cruelty”. For the MCD, the challenge lies not just in finding the funds, but also in balancing public health concerns with animal welfare obligations.
