Why this sterilisation drive may not control stray population in Noida

NOIDA: The sterilisation drive is not being followed according to the roster, and the number of male stray dogs sterilised is far higher than the female canines, a member of the monitoring committee that guides the Greater Noida authority has alleged.
Random selection of dogs for sterilisation and a skewed proportion among the male and female dogs does not help bring down the stray population, the member said on Friday.
The seven-member committee was formed in 2021 to help the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) implement the ABC (animal birth control) programme. Five of its members are authority officials and two others are external members. In 2022, the authority also gave an NGO the contract to sterilise stray dogs in the NCR city.
Last month, panel member Yash Raj Bhardwaj, founder of the NGO Sophie Memorial Animal Relief Trust, resigned from the committee, saying that the rules were not being followed.
Bhardwaj also said that the number of male dogs that had been sterilised was almost double that of female dogs. "For instance, 1,017 male dogs were spayed from last year to February 2023, as compared to 685 female dogs," he said.
According to the Animal Birth Control guidelines, the sterilisation programme is effective if at least 90% of the female dogs in an area are sterilised. That's because one female canine can give birth to 20 pups a year.
When asked, a GNIDA official said the external members had voiced their complaints at the committee's last meeting held in January.
"So, we made a roaster to go sector-wise. For example, if the target is to operate on 70% of strays in a defined area, then it will be done in a specific time. After the exercise is completed, we will conduct a survey of that sector to check if the targeted dogs were sterilised or not," the official said.
According to the GNIDA official in January this year, 461 males were sterilised while 199 females were sterilised.
In February, 301 males were sterilised while 159 females were sterilised.
City's residents also said the sterilisation drive appeared to be haphazard.
"We asked the authority to sterilise all the 20-25 stray dogs in our area in June last year. They came, but sterilised only one dog. When we asked why, they said they were unable to catch the remaining dogs," said Rajnikant Tiwari, a resident of Omega Sector 1.
Pradeep Jindal, who lives in Ansal Golf Link 1, also said the RWA had deposited the fees for sterilisation of 50 dogs in the area. "But only half of them wsterilizedised 5-6 months back. Now, no one from the Authority picks up our call," he said.