It is not easy to build a shelter home in Delhi-NCR and to arrange stray dogs in it.
Regarding the increasing number of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR, the recent order of the Supreme Court said that all the stray dogs of the capital should be caught within two months and kept in the shelter home. But the easier it seems to hear this order, the more difficult and expensive in the implementation.
The number of stray dogs is so high that a lot of space will be required to keep them and if it is also arranged, then you will have to spend a hefty amount every month for the upbringing of these dogs.
More than 1 million dogs, but place for only 4,000
There are currently about 1 million stray dogs in Delhi, but only 3,500 to 4,000 dogs can be kept at a time in temporary animal birth control (ABC) centers with the entire Municipal Corporation. That is, there is no place for 96% of dogs. The present ABC centers have been designed to keep dogs for a few days only after sterilization and vaccination, not as permanent shelter.
Only the cost of food is more than 1,000 crores
According to an HT report, if every dog is given food at the rate of ₹ 40 per day, then daily expenses will sit around ₹ 4 crore. This means that only on feeding food can cost up to ₹ 1,400 crore annually. This expenditure is also when the rest of the necessary things like medicine, care, cleanliness, or the salary of staff are not included.
Experts believe that it would be financially very difficult to keep all stray dogs in the shelter until the exact census of dogs, solid planning, and adequate funding. In such a situation, it is possible to build a shelter home in Delhi-NCR and make arrangements for stray dogs stay in it only with a huge expenditure and long-term plan. For this, the government and administration will have to prepare a separate budget and policy.