Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticised the Supreme Court order to relocate all stray dogs from Delhi, Noida and Gurugram to shelters , calling it a “step back from decades of humane, science-backed policy”.

“Blanket removals are cruel, shortsighted and strip us of compassion,” he said in a social media post. “We can ensure public safety and animal welfare go hand in hand.”

On Monday, the Supreme Court directed the Delhi government and municipal corporations of Noida and Gurugram to capture and shift street dogs to shelters, saying that the situation was “grim” and “immediate steps need to be taken” to address the problem.

The court had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter on July 28 after a report about incidents of dog bites leading to rabies in the National Capital Region.

Reacting to the order, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said that the national capital does not have enough shelters to accommodate all the stray dogs in Delhi-NCR.

“As it is animals in urban surroundings are subjected to ill treatment and brutality,” she said. “Surely there is a better way to manage the situation and a humane way can be found in which these innocent animals are looked after and kept safe as well.”

However, her party colleague P Chidambaram said the Supreme Court’s directive should be implemented across the country.

“It is not difficult to round up stray dogs and put them in proper dog shelters,” he said. “All that a town needs is government or municipal land on the outskirts of a town; levelling the land and fencing it; and putting the dogs in the enclosed space.”

He added that the “streets must be free and safe for all people especially children and elderly people”.

TMC MP writes to CJI, seeks stay

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale said that he has written to Chief Justice BR Gavai seeking a stay on the court’s order and a review by a larger bench.

He said that while the issue of management of stray dogs is a matter of concern, it is not something that can be resolved by “arbitrary orders passed by the judiciary without any larger consultative process”.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Delhi has supported the Supreme Court directive, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta saying that the order will be implemented in a planned and systematic manner, PTI reported.

“Residents of Delhi have been troubled by the stray dog menace for many years,” she said on Monday.

Delhi Development Minister Kapil Mishra added that the court’s order “shows a path to free Delhi from the fear of rabies and stray animals”.

He said the government would act in a time-bound manner while ensuring “special attention to the comprehensive welfare of stray animals”.

However, BJP leader and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that the order is impractical, ANI reported.

“This is a very strange judgement given by someone who is angry,” the BJP leader was quoted as saying by the news agency. “Angry judgements are never sensible. The mayor says he can do this in six weeks; let him try.”

She claimed that implementing the order would involve building 3,000 shelters, employing 1.5 lakh persons to man them and at least 500 vans to pick up these dogs, The Indian Express reported.

“At these pounds, you will also need power, kennels, and other arrangements; they will be fed at least twice a day; it will cost around three to four crore per week,” she added. “That comes up to about Rs 15 crore per month.”

Also read: Why is India seeing so much rage against street dogs?