Hyderabad: The Telangana high court on Tuesday directed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to strictly follow the Supreme Court‘s animal birth control (ABC) guidelines, emphasising that all directions relating to street dogs must be implemented in sequence.The court was hearing a petition filed by the Association for Animal Shelter and Rescue Aid (AASRA), an NGO, over the alleged illegal capture of strays in the city.Justice B Vijaysen Reddy also instructed the GHMC to permit the petitioners to inspect two ABC centres to verify the rehabilitation facilities being provided to the captured dogs. The court said the inspection must ensure that the safety measures and anti-cruelty provisions in place comply with the Supreme Court’s mandate. The judge clarified that the directions were aimed only at ensuring full adherence to the ABC Rules 2023 and the apex court’s orders, and were not meant to create administrative hurdles for the civic body. The petition was filed by AASRA president Gowri Vandana, who sought directions to stop the alleged capture and removal of street dogs from different parts of Hyderabad. She claimed these actions were in violation of the ABC Rules and the Supreme Court’s directions issued in a suo motu writ petition. During the hearing, the court took note of a checklist submitted by the authorities regarding institutional capacity, infrastructure and related details. It then directed the petitioners to visit the ABC centres at Fathullaguda and KPHB Colony, with prior intimation to the authorities, who were instructed to facilitate the inspections. The matter was adjourned for further hearing.
