The GHMC is considering revising rules to ensure more pet owners in the city get a licence for their dogs, and that those without one are penalised.
Though it is mandatory under the Hyderabad Municipal Act for pet-owners to get a license – issued in the form of an aluminium token – on an annual payment of Rs.50, not many go for it.
Officials blame the lack of awareness, the difficulty of collecting a license and also absence of a deterrent for the present predicament.
Pet owners have to apply for a license on a prescribed form, while attaching a No-Objection Certificate from neighbours, and also a health certificate from a veterinarian. This procedure, an official admitted, is not widely known and is also considered a burden.
“Also, most seem to consider a visit to the GHMC office for the license and also bringing the pet for examination here a cumbersome process,” he said.
New experiment yields results
However, a small experiment taken up in the licensing process in the GHMC West Zone apparently yielded better results last year. From a few hundred license applications each year, numbers swelled to around 3,000 last time. What zonal level officials did was to facilitate the licensing process at all veterinary hospitals and also private clinics.
“We authorised these facilities to issue the license, which ensured that pet owners took the same when they visited these hospitals or clinics for immunisation, check-up or treatment of their pets. They did not need to come to our office for the purpose and the number of licenses have gone up several-fold,” an official said.
Current GHMC rules do not have a provision of penalising those who do not acquire the mandatory license. Some officials observed that punitive action would help in ensuring that more pet owners collected the licenses.
Another official said GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar had recently issued directions to study pet registration and other related rules, and to come up with possible revisions.
“We will be making the recommendations and there is a possibility of incorporating a clause on penalty,” he said.
