Kerala High Court: Directed State To Take Action Against The Municipal Corporations For Any Failure To Implement Action Plan Against The Stray Dig Problem

The Kerala High Court in the case In Re Bruno v. Union of India observed and has directed the State Government for submitting the details of the progress of mass vaccination drives and setting up of shelters for stray dogs by the municipal corporations in the state.
The Division bench comprising of Justice A. K. Jayashankaran Nambiar and Justice Gopinath P in the case observed and has directed the State for providing details of the steps which are taken by the Municipal Corporations to comply with the government order dated 15.09.2022, which the court issued pursuant to the directions of the court to resolve the issues caused by stray dogs.
The court observed that the government order had envisaged a detailed 4-step Action Plan, which comprises of the following steps – Mass Vaccination Drive, Setting up Rehabilitation Centres for stray dogs and abandoned dogs, Sanitation/Cleaning Drive for waste disposal, and I.E.C. i.e., the Information Education and Communication Campaign.
Therefore, the three-tier organization was also proposed to be set up for coordinating the vaccination drive – the State Level Committee, the District Level Committee, and the Local Body Level People’s Committee.
Further, the court in the case observed and has directed the State to take action against the Municipal Corporations that have not complied with the government order.
It has also been observed by the court in its order dated 14.09.2022 that the State Administration was obligated to protect the citizens from the attacks of ferocious dogs by identifying and containing such dogs and removing them from the public places:
The court while considering the facts and circumstances of the case stated that the State Administration must remind itself of the fact that in its role as a welfare state and as a parents patriae of the citizenry, thus, it is obligated to protect the citizens from the attacks of ferocious dogs by identifying and containing such dogs and removing them from public places.