The Himachal Pradesh High Court has snubbed the Shimla Municipal Corporation for showing reluctance to handle the city’s stray dog problem. The court has given the municipal corporation six months’ time to find a solution to the problem and establish animal shelters for stray dogs.

A Division Bench, comprising acting Chief Justice R B Misra and Justice Rajiv Sharma, passed the order on a PIL initiated by the court’s own motion, observing that the municipal corporation was duty bound to act in the case and get rid of the stray dog menace. “It is the statutory duty cast upon the corporation to provide animal kennels/shelters. The corporation can’t be permitted to remain remiss from discharging its statutory duties,” the Bench said in a three-page order.

The court noted that the municipal corporation had written to Principal Secretary (Urban Development) demanding Rs 2 crore for providing shelters to stray dogs. The corporation’s counsel Shrawan Dogra had pleaded that in view of the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) rules 2001, it was difficult for the corporation to catch and keep stray dogs in shelters.

Rejecting the contention the court said: “We have gone through the rules minutely. Rule 6 specifically obliges the local authority — municipal corporation — to establish sufficient number of pounds, kennels and shelters, which may be managed by animal welfare organisations. It has to provide other infrastructure as stipulated in the rule.” The court quoted the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for stray dogs under which the corporation is supposed to provide land, building or ABC centres for the dogs, catching vans, free water and incinerators.