THREE animal birth control (ABC) centres operating in the city with the support of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) lack mandatory nods from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).The Animal BirthControl Rules,2023,state that all ABC centresmusthave AWBI permission to operate. And interestingly, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has footed the bill of Rs 7,49,158 (11 months) from public funds for maintenance expenses incurred by three centres for carrying out sterilisation of stray dogs in the city. The said information has come out in an RTI put up by animal welfare activists. NMC said it provides these ABC centres with space, electricity, water, and other minor facilities. Total maintenance expenses from 2019 to 2025: the only record provided was that of electricitybills forjust11months, and it amounted to Rs 7,49,158, again adjusted frompublicmoney. NMC is running the ABC programme, especially for sterilisation of stray dogs utilising the scarce public funds.

 

Smita Mire, an animal welfare activist, said it's quite shocking to learn that NMC officials overlooked a crucial yet mandatory aspect of AWBI approval for running of 3 ABC centres. Replying to RTI application, the civic body said over theperiod from2019 to2025, about 42656 surgeries for sterilisation were carried out and as to causality, only six. NMC said it did not receive any funding from either the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) nor the State Welfare Board, and ABC centres in the city are at Bhandewadi, managed by Vets for Animals, Satara; at Maharajbag, managed by the Swatantra Animal Welfare Society, Hyderabad; and at Gorewada, run by the Krishna Society for Animals, Pune. Shequestioned thepracticeof non-maintenance of records when publicmoneyis being dispersed,addingitputsaquestion mark on the utilisation of public funds.

 

The RTI reply given by NMC reveals disturbing lapses, lack of transparency, and possible negligence in the city's ABC programme, Mire claimed further. Countering NMC's claim of justsixcasualtiesin theABCprogramme, Mire said their record and evidencewith them arecontrary to official information. These findings thus raise serious questions about the authenticity of reported figures and the overall welfare of animals under municipal care. Information for the financial years 2019 to 2026 was sought to gain a clear picture of the ABC operations. Animal lovers have documented evidence that suggests mortality is much higher than officially reported:At Bhandewadi, one post-mortem was conducted on a highly decomposed body, making the cause of death indeterminable, indicatingpoorcare andrecordkeeping.

 

Thereafter at Gorewada, against 1 death, there is eyewitnessaccounts thatpoint tomany more fatalities. Then at Maharajbag, where the claim is of zero deaths, an implausible claim is contradicted by irrefutable evidence that shows atleast fourdeaths.Mireclaimed tobeinpossessionofcallrecordings,photographs, and videos to contradict the zero casualty claim. One of the cases involved a dog being forcibly and brutally captured, leading to its death after sterilisation. None of these deaths were officially recorded, indicating deliberate data manipulation. Surgical Failures and Negligence: At both Gorewada and Bhandewadi, many sterilisations have failed, with stitchesopening,intestinesprotruding, and dogs dying as a result. She highlighted a tragic incident when four dogs from Symbiosis College died within a weekofreleasedue tocaninedistemper and post-surgery weakness. Shockingly, theNMC employees charged for their burial despite the deaths beinga direct result of immediate post-ABC releasewithoutrecoverytime.No one is held accountable for the said act. In February, AWBI's surprise inspectionrevealedmultipleviolations, as ABC rules were not being followed at three centres, and there was also improper treatment of dogs. Also, the kennelswereovercrowded,no autoclave for sterilisation was practised, and hygiene was totally absent.