In the wake of the Supreme Court reiterating removal of stray dogs from institutional areas, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said it will ask the Delhi animal husbandry department for space at their centres to accommodate dogs picked up from these areas, senior officials aware of the development said.Delhi plans new dog shelters amid rising concern over stray dog attacks (PTI)Civic officials said the move would ensure that each zone has a shelter for stray dogs, even as the process to develop MCD’s first large dog shelter in Dwarka remains plagued by delays.A senior MCD official, who did not wish to be named, said, “Animal husbandry department operates veterinary facilities at more than 70 locations, including 47 veterinary hospitals and 26 veterinary dispensaries. We have sought space from them to set up local animal shelters, where aggressive dogs can be kept in the beginning. In the past, they have allocated space to us for running animal birth control centres.”Also Read: SC refuses to tweak its order to remove stray dogs: ‘Go for euthanasia if need be’The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to modify its November 2025 directions mandating the removal of stray dogs from institutional areas, such as schools, hospitals, sports complexes, railway stations and bus depots.Delhi currently does not have adequate infrastructure to implement the directions, given that it does not have a dog shelter in place. The city’s first permanent shelter home for aggressive dogs, estimated to cost ₹3.5 crore, is expected to be built in Dwarka Sector 29, with a capacity to house 1500 dogs. Work on it has been delayed due to the delay in the release of funds.A second official said that implementation of the SC order also required institutions to appoint nodal officers to keep their campuses free of stray dogs and prevent open feeding.“Creating shelters to house such a large number of dogs is a major challenge, which is why we need help from animal husbandry department. Nodal officers need to approach the MCD for such requests first,” the official said.MCD standing committee chairperson Satya Sharma said that the corporation aims to establish at least one dog shelter in every zone to ensure safe shelter, treatment, and care for stray dogs.Also Read: ‘On paper only’: Delhi unprepared to implement Supreme Court stray dog ruling“A special budget allocation of ₹10 crore has been made for this purpose. Work on a dog shelter in Dwarka will progress rapidly, and similar facilities will be developed in other areas as well. To strengthen sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination programmes for stray dogs, additional kennels will be set up at five new centres. The process of adding extra kennels at five sterilisation centres has already begun,” Sharma said.HT reached out to the animal husbandry department for comment on the arrests but did not receive a response.Expressing concern over the “disturbing increase” in dog-bite incidents, the apex court on November 7, 2025, had directed all states and union territories to remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them to a designated shelter after due sterilisation and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Stray canines picked up from such premises shall not be released back into the same locality, the court added.On Tuesday, in a 131-page judgment, the court said the problem of stray dog attacks had assumed “deeply disturbing proportions” across the country and warned that continued state inaction would invite contempt proceedings, disciplinary action and tortious liability.