After huge protests erupted in the capital city, Delhi, in support of the street dogs, the city now has to solve the problem of shortage of veterinary doctors and sterilisation centres. After the Supreme Court stated that all the street canines will be put under shelter, several animal rights activists and the residents of the city went to the streets to protect the rights of dogs. The Supreme Court also directed authorities to create shelters for at least 5,000 dogs within 6 to 8 weeks and commence capturing operations immediately to build localities free of stray dogs.

But the key department expected to control the stray dog and cattle population in Delhi is headless about the issue. Moreover, it also suffers from large-scale vacancies across different job profiles, ranging from animal catchers, field staff, drivers to operate vans, inspectors, and even veterinary officers.

According to MCD’s own data, out of 649 sanctioned posts in the veterinary department, 277 are vacant. This amounts to a shortfall of 42.68%. The post of Director has remained vacant for over nine months now, and one of the two Additional Director posts is also unfilled.

A senior municipal officer informed national media that the leadership gap is hampering all sorts of coordination. While the Director is expected to steer the department and oversee all of its functions, the absence of the crucial postholder is leading to many orders being passed by the court with no actual implementation. There are no employees in the sanctioned positions to take up all the important functions to implement.

Staff Shortage in MCD

According to the MCD officials, the supervisory roles are severely affected. Data shows that 60% of veterinary officer posts, with 27 vacancies against a sanctioned strength of 45, are vacant. Almost half of veterinary inspector posts, 18 out of 38, are vacant. Operational staff shortage is another loophole, where the department requires 64 drivers to operate vehicles but only 27 are currently positioned, leaving 57.8% of posts vacant. Animal catcher field staff, now called multitasking staff, are short with one-third of the posts vacant (109 vacancies out of 350). Administrative manpower is thinner as well: against the 78 sanctioned Junior Secretariat Assistants for recordkeeping and clerical work, only 26 are currently positioned and 52 posts are vacant.

Hiring of contractual field staff is underway, but permanent posts need more time for recruitment through the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB).

The former South Delhi Municipal Corporation Veterinary Services Director, Ravindra Sharma, says that the situation is unprecedented: “If there are not enough drivers, even the existing vans cannot be operated at full efficiency. The veterinary officers ensure that work is carried out in zones, inspections are carried out, and vehicles are accompanied for removal of stray cattle. If there are not enough JSAs, the documentation work invariably falls on other officers,” said Sharma to the national media.

The veterinary department is responsible for a wide range of functions, including operation of slaughterhouses, licensing of meat shops, checking illegal slaughtering, tracking cattle menace, and removing unauthorised dairies. It also implements the Animal Birth Control programme for dogs, conducts anti-rabies vaccination drives, manages monkey-catching operations through contractors who hand over the animals to the wildlife sanctuary at Asola Bhatti Mines. All these functions remain unattended due to shortage of staff with the MCD.