Harassing, threatening, or preventing any person from “responsibly” feeding community dogs, particularly women, senior citizens or community caregivers, will now be considered a serious offence in the Capital, as per the latest guidelines issued by the Delhi government’s Department of Urban Development.The Department of Urban Development notified the guidelines in a letter issued on Monday to the civic authorities in the city, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Council.The government has formulated these guidelines keeping in mind the NGOs, dog lovers and caregivers, asserted Delhi Development Minister Kapil Mishra. “We want to make the city safe and conflict-free for every living being and if anyone violates the set guidelines, action will be taken as per the apex court,” he said.The directives have been issued at a time when several incidents of attacks on dog feeders have been reported from various parts of Delhi-NCR. Even as the Supreme Court on August 22 revised its August 11 order that directed locking up all the stray dogs across the Capital and neighbouring cities, the attacks against the dog feeders continued.Under the title ‘Guidelines for Street Dog Population Management, Rabies Eradication, and Reduction of Human-Dog Conflict in Delhi’, which is in accordance with the the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Animal and Birth Control Rules, 2023, the Delhi government — in the letter to civic authorities — has elaborated upon the steps to be taken by local authorities for marking feeding spots, registration of pet dogs, breeding and vaccination.The best performing RWA that marks the feeding spots for the convenience of all residents, will be rewarded by the Delhi government. “While choosing such points, it must be borne in mind that dogs are territorial by nature; forcing them to move out of their territories causes conflict,” reads the letter. It also added that if conflict arises between the RWA and residents, the committee prescribed under Rule 20 of the ABC Rules 2023 shall visit the location and take a decision.The directives also outline a clear protocol for civic authorities for handling aggressive and rabid dogs, ensuring that they are kept under supervision or isolated, said officials, with habitually aggressive dogs being permanently housed in the Animal Welfare Board of India-recognised shelters.Story continues below this adIn a move to encourage adoption of strays, any resident who now adopts Indian breeds will be exempted from paying any registration fees, and sterilisation and first vaccination of the pet will be free of cost.Meanwhile, each dog, over three months of age, kept as a pet within a household anywhere in Delhi must be registered with the office of the concerned local body.The registration will be done in two categories: Breeding category, and Non-breeding category.It will be mandatory for the local ABC Monitoring Committee constituted under ABC rules to meet at least once every month.The new order also introduces multiple directives for carrying out sterilisation. Only Animal Welfare Organizations (AWOs), recognised by AWBI, can now conduct or organise animal birth control programs for street dogs.Story continues below this adAdditionally, the ABC centres now have to meet specific infrastructure mandates, including kennels, operation theaters with power backup, vans, CCTV, and incinerators. They also need to submit a monthly and an annual report to AWBI through the state ABC Monitoring Committee.Now, the reimbursement of sterilisation for every dog — for such ABC centres — will be given after counting the organs removed from dogs during surgery in terms of Rule 17 [Rule 10(2)].Reacting to the guidelines, Gauri Maulekhi, Member, Delhi Animal Birth Control Monitoring Committee, said, “A new chapter has been written for Delhi’s streets. By creating a clear, legally-backed framework, the Government of NCT of Delhi is not only addressing an immediate public health and safety concern but also working to build a more humane and harmonious city for all its residents, on both two legs and four.”