Nagpur: The Maharashtra Government on Thursday submitted an affidavit in the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court stating that it had identified about 47 land parcels outside Nagpur’s periphery where over 90,000 stray dogs can be relocated.
The affidavit was submitted by Collector Vipin Itankar, through Additional Government Pleader Deepak Thakre, after which the hearing on a PIL filed by social worker Vijay Talewar through Firdos Mirza was adjourned .
It was filed in response to HC’s last orders to the state to identify parcels of land approximately five acres each on Nagpur’s outskirts. Itankar informed that he had collected the information from all Tehsildars across the district for availability of land parcels.
According to the court, these areas can be fenced off and made ready for housing stray dogs, where the sterilization and other procedures can also be conducted, and which can also form a place for the dog lovers to feed them.
In the last hearing, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) lawyer Sudhir Puranik informed that the total number of stray dogs in Nagpur is approximately 90,000, which, according to him, comes to 3% of the population of the city. In an affidavit, the NMC informed that it can accommodate only 100 such canines in its shelter at Bhandewadi in the city.
