Madhya Pradesh: Dogs defecating in open to be penalised

Bhopal: In the first of its kind move in Madhya Pradesh, a civic body in the state on Wednesday came up with a notification seeking to impose penalty on canine lovers if their pet dogs were found littering public places.

Jabalpur municipal corporation (JMC) issued a circular directing officials of the civic body to keep a vigil on the pet dog owners, who take their canines out in the morning and evening to pee and shit in the open and impose a penalty of up to Rs 5,000 each on them under the Municipality Cleanliness and Sanitation Act.

The move was obviously prompted by the on-going Swachh Bharat Abhiyan drive aimed at freeing the country of the ill of open defecation by a large section of population.

“The JMC has decided to impose penalty on the pet dog owners, whose canines are found littering public places. We have issued a circular in this regard. Our field staff have been directed to keep a watch on the pet dog owners. The objective behind the move was to keep the city clean,” municipal corporation commissioner Ved Prakash told this newspaper on Wednesday.

Earlier, a municipal corporation in the state had hogged national limelight for imposing a fine of Rs 75,000 to a family at the rate of Rs 500 per member for a month, in a village for defecating in the open.