Chennai: The Madras High Court has directed the Tamilnadu government to ensure that the campus of IIT-Madras does not become a dumping ground for abandoned dogs.
‘At the end of the day, IIT campus is not a dog park, nor a zoo, nor is it the IIT’s core business to devote its resources or energy towards maintaining dogs including pets that residents in the city may abandon at the IIT gates,’ said the court.
The HC then directed People for Cattle in India (PFCI), the State authorities and the Greater Chennai Corporation to decide on a course of action that may be followed both to ensure that IIT is rid of the menace of too many dogs on its campus and the ultimate treatment of the dogs taken from the campus.
Last month, students and residents of IIT-M had urged the management to either release the captive dogs at the ‘dog park’ on the campus, or allow the dog caretakers to visit them.
Since October 2020, more than 170 stray dogs are said to be held captive in the park, of which, more than 45 dogs have reportedly died.
The IIT-M management captured these stray dogs, and corralled them into a ‘dog park’ on the campus.
While they initially claimed that the strays were attacking other wild animals within the premises, they later cited sterilisation for keeping them captive in the shelter.
After an issue of disturbance due to loud noise and threat to wildlife inside the campus and improper solid waste management came up in 2019, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered IIT-M to form a committee and monitor the issues and prevent wildlife from consuming waste, said reports.