Submits to HC that euthanasia under the supervision of a vet is permissible
HYDERABAD: GHMC commissioner K. Ilambarithi filed a counter before the Telangana High Court on dealing with the stray dogs menace here on Wednesday. He submitted a sworn affidavit stating that euthanasia under the supervision of a veterinarian was permissible and a legislative mandate. He further submitted that section 11(3)(b), 11(3)(c) of the Prevention of Cruelty Act, 1960, read with section 249 of GHMC Act 1955, provides sufficient safeguards to citizens by permitting the authorities to end the menace.
Maintaining his stance, the GHMC commissioner emphasised that priority must be accorded to the right to life and the well-being of citizens, particularly children. He said that the state had reported around 1,22,000 dog bite cases in 2024 of which 13 cases had resulted in deaths. He brought to the notice of the court that there were 36 deaths from among 3,33,955 dog bite cases that were registered in the last three years.
In a 26-page counter affidavit, the civic body chief gave a brief about what the GHMC had done to resolve the dog-human conflict and submitted that over 8o per cent of stray dogs in its limits were sterilized, the highest among all metro cities in the country. He said that their vet section was taking up a special drive to catch all the unsterilised stray dogs so as to vaccinate them as per the rules. He said they were complying with the guidelines of the Animal Welfare Board of India. He explained that GHMC had spent more than Rs 29 crore on sterilizations in the last three years.
However, in response to the GHMC’s affidavit, Mamidi Venumadhav, the advocate who filed a petition on stray dogs menace, filed a reply counter mentioning that the GHMC was not sincere in its efforts. He pointed out that sterilization rules were introduced in 2001 and if the corporation had honestly gone about the sterilization exercise, there would have been no stray dogs in Hyderabad from a decade back. He submitted that citizens, including children, are unable to walk without a stick on the roads, more so at nights, due to the fear of attacks by stray dogs.
