"Govt will prepare action plan based on order": Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra on SC's stray dogs relocation verdict

New Delhi [India], August 12 (ANI): After the Supreme Court ordered to send all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelters within eight weeks, Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra on Tuesday emphasised that the government will prepare an action plan based on the order.
Speaking to ANI, Mishra said that the Delhi government will only move forward with any action keeping compassion, kindness and humanity in mind.
"It is the court's order. We are studying the order. Based on the order, the government will prepare an action plan. The Delhi government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, will move forward with any action keeping compassion, kindness, and humanity at its core," he said.
Earlier today, Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh welcomed the Supreme Court's order directing the removal of stray dogs from all localities in Delhi-NCR within eight weeks and said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) would implement the order in a phased manner.
While speaking to ANI, Delhi Mayor Singh said, "We will implement the Supreme Court order. MCD has 20 operational shelter homes. We will work in a phased manner - in the first phase, we will pick dogs that are prone to biting or are rabies-infected. Later, we will focus on other stray dogs. All this will be done with the help of NGOs. We will soon launch a helpline."
He added that a meeting with all agencies across Delhi-NCR is being planned to work towards creating dog-free areas and that the sterilisation programme will be scaled up.
Earlier, the Supreme Court on Monday took serious note of the stray dog menace and directed Delhi-NCR authorities to begin removing stray dogs from all localities and house them in dedicated dog shelters to be set up by civic bodies.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that all localities should be made free of stray dogs and there should not be any compromise. It also made it clear that no captured animal will be released back on the streets.
It also ordered contempt proceedings against any individual or organisation that attempts to obstruct the authorities from carrying out the capture drive.
"If any individual or organisation comes in the way of picking stray dogs or rounding them up, we will proceed to take action against any such resistance," said Justice Pardiwala.
The apex court also directed the states and municipal authorities to create dog shelters with sufficient staff to sterilise and immunise them. (ANI)