23 June,2011 06:15 AM IST | | Alifiya Khan and Neha Taneja
As only 904 dog owners have the mandatory pet licence in a city that has thousands of domestic canines, civic body decides on door-to-door dog census to avoid Rs 5 lakh annual loss due to unpaid registration charges
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is going to the dogs. Derogatory though this may sound, it is a fact. About 15 days ago, the health department of the PMC started a house-to-house pet dog census in the city. The reason is that PMC officials have finally realised the huge amount of money the civic body is losing every year simply because of their complacency. According to PMC rules, it is mandatory for pet owners to obtain a licence for their dogs with a yearly payment of Rs 50 per animal. So far, only 904 pet owners have registered, whereas pet shop owners and dog breeders put the estimated number of canine pets in city at 10,000 or more.
This means that the PMC suffers a loss of at least Rs 5 lakh per year, and in the past 10 years it has lost more than Rs 50 lakh in just unpaid dog licence charges.
Licence Raj: According to rules, it is mandatory for pet owners to obtain
a licence for their dogs from the PMC with a yearly payment of Rs 50
per animal. Representation pic
Dr R R Pardeshi, medical officer, PMC, admitted that the census was being carried out. "We don't know yet what is the number of unlicensed dogs, but it could be in the thousands. We have made various efforts to make people come forward and get licences done, but people are reluctant," he said. "May be we will have to advertise again or threaten strict measures if rules are not followed." According to the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations (BPMC) Act, 1949, it is mandatory to obtain a pet licence and ensure proper hygiene levels for the both animals and humans. Officials said that a licence is issued after a pet owner fills up a form at the ward office and pays Rs 50 as licence fee.
"Only proof of residence of owner and administration of rabies injection to pet are the pre-requisites for issuing a licence," an official said. Before the license is issued, an inspector from the licence branch is expected to visit the home of the person and conduct an inspection of the basic hygiene level of the place where the dog is kept, the age of the dog, species and other details. The law also mentions that it is the owner's responsibility to prevent the animal from being a nuisance, failing which the commissioner has the power to fine the owner.
According to PMC records, in 2005-06 about 22 fresh dog licences were issued, while in 2008-2009 the number jumped to 250.
Dog breeders laughed off the figures as eyewash. "I am just one of the scores of dog breeders in the city and I alone sold 680 dogs last year. The problem with taking licences is the corruption in the PMC. Firstly, officers charge extra for issuing licences and, secondly, pet owners are made to run around for licences as officers are not helpful, which is why people don't go for licences," Bahubali, dog breeder and owner of Deepali Hobby Kennel in Ganesh Nagar, said. Swapnil Joshi, owner of pet shop PetsDen, also put the figure of pets in city in the thousands and blamed the PMC for the low number of licences.
"The officials themselves don't want to issue licenscs; when people approach them they say the form is not available or give other flimsy excuses. A couple of times our customers told us that they were told not to get into this tedious process," he said. Sumeet Bahibule, owner of Delight Kennel in the Sinhagad Road area, has sold 450 dogs in the past one year alone. He said he had even forced his clients to get licences, but they all said they were fed up with the harassment meted out by PMC officials. "They just make people run around. This may be so because they have to conduct an inspection later and it is tedious for them. The PMC is itself responsible for this situation," he said.
Dog licence? what's that?
MiD DAY spoke to a few pet owners, who claimed ignorance about dog licences.
Is there such a thing? I didn't even know and would have gone for it had I known. I knew it happens in New Delhi, but wasn't aware of it locally. Anyway, Rs 50 is not such a big amount
--u00a0Raajjesh Cchandna, owner of Smaartpetsz Pet Retreat, a dog boarding house
I wasn't aware of any such licence. Though I have never faced any problems over this license. I have put a collar around my dog's neck and it always goes out under supervision
--u00a0Shoaib Ali, pet owner
Dog Registration statistics
The ground reality is totally different from what the law says should be done. When it comes to actual implementation, the figures paint a sorry picture. At present, there are 904 pet dogs in the city that are owned with a valid licence from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
The PMC has no data regarding the actual numbers of pet dogs in the city. A year ago, the PMC formulated an extensive policy for ensuring cleanliness in the city. In this policy there is a provision for fining the owner of the pet dog if it creates nuisance in public places. But till date, it appears the PMC has not fined anybody for this offence. Even if there have been some instances, there is no record of the same with the civic body. According to law, a licence is mandatory for animals kept on the premises.
Dogu00a0licences issued by PMC
Total: 904
2005-06: 22 new licences
2006-07: 108
2008-09: 250
10,000 number of pet dogs in city, according to au00a0 guesstimate by breeders and pet store owners
