Samvada New Bureau
RWAs and Federations of Noida were invited by CEO Noida for a workshop on 17 November to discuss the policy of Noida Authority for stray and pets. Certain aspects of the policy drawn by NA are not agreeable to the RWAs and Federation (further referred as ‘they’). According to them, “the first impression is that Noida Authority is just interested in fund generation through various fines, registrations etc, but wherever there is some responsibility the policy has tried to put responsibilities on RWAs and AOAs”. On this they say: “We would like to point out that RWAs and AOAs are voluntary bodies and no responsibility can be imposed on them, they do not receive any funds from administration, the fund generated is on contribution basis and most of the RWAs are always short on funds.”
Since they are voluntary organizations and people work here for betterment of their society and fellow residents, NA can’t expect them to take up this kind of responsibilities without any funds. Following are the objections and suggestions:
The policy directs/instructs the RWAs to keep a complete record of vaccination. The authority carried out vaccination from last 20 plus years and could not ascertain the number.
The RWAs will be happy to help authority in identification of feeding points. However for the requirement of putting/ affixing boards, the boards have to be supplied by the authority. For two reasons – Uniformity of board easily identifiable and Enforcement of these laws lies with the administration and thus the board should have an authorized signatory for enforcement which will be the CEO. The responsibility to provide food and water to the strays is being forced on the RWAs which are totally wrong and short-sighted on the part of NA.
On dog bites, the responsibility/expenses for the treatment should be borne by the NA. As pet owners are penalized, on the similar lines compensation package of Rs 10,000 to be paid by the Authority to the dog bite victim and free treatment in private hospital.
All street dogs should be compulsorily tagged. The tags should contain identification number date of sterilization and vaccination status.
The pets should not be allowed in public parks. Most of the owners bring their pets for exercise to the parks. They remove their leash and let them run creating a dangerous situation for the others.
To sort out the problem of exercise for pets a small area in all the big parks can be cordoned off with grills and the pets could be left open in this area. The owners can bring their pets to this area especially dedicated; in the other parts of the park the pets should always be on leash and muzzle. The maintenance/upkeep of these areas should be responsibility of the administration.
Dog that constantly attack humans, bite and harm them also need to be caught immediately and kept in animals shelters. The record of these street dogs should be shared with concerned RWAs of the sector.
The menace of stray animals has reached alarming proportions these days. Accident caused by dog bites and cattle roaming freely on the roads have become a curse for both humans as well as animals. Many animals are injured daily due and similarly human beings are get injured every day due to this problem and even they lose their lives. Due to such free movement of cattle on the roads people riding two wheelers are more prone to accidents.
A policy for stray cattle, cows etc. on the same lines should also be formulated or the stray cattle should also be included in the same policy. Records of these also need to be kept or else they should be completely removed from the sectors.
There should be a designated officer for single point contact by the residents and deputed according to the work circle. He can be contacted for problems related to stray dogs and stray cattle, for the purpose of redressal of any conflicts, incidents, treatment, implementation of dog policy, etc. The contact details of such officers should be posted along the boards on feeding points as well as with the RWAs.
(Above points as per the letter sent to CEO, Noida, by DDRWA Federation on behalf of RWAs)
