Now pay Rs500 to register your pet canine with NMC

Nagpur: Now people will have to pay 150% more as licence fee for keeping dogs as pets. Municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B has approved a proposal to increase the pet licence fee from Rs200 to Rs500 per year.
As per norms, it is mandatory to register pet dogs with the veterinary department of the civic body. Post registration, the NMC will issue pet licence. It is also mandatory to renew the licence every year.
For the first time, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has relaxed the condition of obtaining no objection certificate (NOC) from neighbours for citizens who will not keep more than three pets, while for stray dogs with sterilization, the registration fee will be waived off completely.
These are some of the rules of the NMC’s new stray dog registration policy.
“To promote adoption of strays, licence fee will be waived off fully for owners of rescued, injured or abandoned sterilized stray dogs, while for other sterilized breeds, the NMC will charge Rs200 per dog as licence fee,” deputy municipal commissioner (SWM) and veterinary officer Dr Gajendra Mahalle told TOI.
As per the policy, those submitting sterilization certificates issued by a registered veterinarian who performed the surgery will get Rs300 refund.
However, if the certificate of neutering surgery or vaccination is found to be false, as per the new policy, dog owner will be fined Rs20,000, and the veterinarian concerned, if found to have issued the certificate without performing the surgery, will be fined Rs20,000.
All dog owners will be required to get their pets registered within three months from the publication of notification, which will be published soon, said Dr Mahalle.
Registration will be done between April 1 and April 30 every year and thereafter dog owner will be charged Rs5 per day as fine.
The licence will be valid for one financial year. If a dog is found to be kept without licence or registration or if a complaint is received, first a notice will be served, the new policy says. Owner will be given time to register his or her pet. “It will be necessary to register pet by paying penalty within a certain period. If not done so, the dog owner will be charged Rs5,000 as administrative penalty,” says the policy.
Dogs will be registered in all zonal offices of the civic body. Sanitary officers will oversee the work, while assistant commissioner or ward officer have been given the final authority to issue licences. The NMC is also working on making the process of application for procuring pet licence (or registration) online.
The NMC has also advised the owners to get microchip implanted in pets for easy identification. It has also urged them to chain and muzzle their pets while taking them out. It has also suggested the owners to ensure that their pets do not defecate anywhere while walking outside. “It will be necessary for the owners to use poop stick to clear the mess,” it further added.