Stray dog menace in city: Funds misuse allegation baseless, clarifies PFA

‘MCC pays just Rs. 870 per dog neutered while rules stipulate Rs. 1,400’

Mysore/Mysuru: The allegations of funds misappropriation in the stray dog sterilisation process in the city are unfounded and a figment of imagination. All the accounts are audited and publicly available for perusal, said People For Animals (PFA).

At a recent meeting of Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Council, MCC Health Officer Dr. D.G. Nagaraj had stated during a discussion on increased stray dog menace that the MCC spends Rs. 3,40,000 per month to sterilise over 400 dogs.

Some Corporators had alleged that it is a clear case of lethargy where the authorities are moving slowly in sterilising dogs. Despite tall claims of sterilisation, the dog population had doubled and tripled over the years, they said.

Responding to this, Dr. Nagaraj said that the dog sterilisation process is being carried out with the support of an NGO and every month over 400 dogs are being neutered and Rs. 850 is being paid to sterilise one dog. Strays caught by the MCC personnel are also handed over to the NGO for neutering.

Some Corporators demanded an investigation on how the sterilisation money is being spent. They questioned why money is being paid to the NGO for the dogs that are caught by the MCC personnel using the Corporation vehicles. They demanded that a Committee be constituted to probe this issue and check for misappropriation of funds.

Responding to the charges, PFA-Mysuru Honorary Managing Trustee Savitha Nagabhushan told Star of Mysore that animal birth control (ABC) is the statutory responsibility of the MCC as per the ABC Dog Rules, 2001. Because the MCC does not have the manpower and infrastructure, they normally delegate the same to local NGOs under a tender process.

“Reaching Out To Animals (ROTA), a sister concern of PFA, being the only Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)-approved NGO in Mysuru, takes up the responsibility every year. A rate is fixed for every successful sterilisation that would be paid to the NGO at the end of every month. Costs of surgery, staff salary, medical infrastructure, medication, postoperative care, nutrition, etc. are borne by the NGO,” she said.

Way less than stipulated rates

While the MCC dog catchers bring four to five dogs per week, ROTA staff catch 15 to 20 dogs per day for sterilisation. In fact, from March 2021 up to Dec 2021, the MCC dog catchers brought us just 209 dogs while ROTA staff have caught 3,706 strays in the same period.

“Rs. 870 is paid by the MCC per sterilisation as per the tender notification as against Rs.1,400 stipulated by the model guidelines, 2016 of the AWBI. The Bengaluru Corporation pays Rs. 1,200 per sterilisation and 150 for anti-rabies vaccination. Chikkamagalur Corporation pays Rs. 1,400 for male dogs and Rs. 1,430 for female dogs and Rs.120 for anti-rabies vaccination,” she said.

“The allegation of misappropriation of funds is baseless and a figment of imagination. All our accounts are audited, publicly available for perusal. On average, 380 to 400 dogs are sterilised every month by ROTA and the organs obtained are properly examined by the members appointed by the MCC. The organs are counted near the CCTV camera and disposed of before the MCC officer,” Savitha explained.

Accounts transparent

There is a photographic record of every dog caught for sterilisation, GPS of location. “The rate at which MCC is paying is pushing us into debts. The medical bills and salaries of our veterinarians are sponsored by Dr. D.L. Madhavi, Trustee of ROTA. ROTA Trustee is subsidising the ABC programme and ROTA also provides anti-rabies vaccination at its own cost as the MCC has not accounted for the same in the tender notification,” she added. 

Furthermore, ROTA, in close association with Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), is planning to increase the sterilisation of street dogs to effectively  manage the same.

On the reasons behind increased stray dog menace, Savitha said that ROTA sterilises dogs only within the MCC limits. “We do not go beyond the MCC limits and over the years the city has grown far and wide. Dogs do migrate from one place to another and this is one of the reasons for population increase. For proper control, we need to carry out ABC programme extensively, in thousands,” she said.