Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation Hikes Annual Pet Registration Fees

Ghaziabad: Pet registration is a mandatory practice for pet owners residing in Ghaziabad city, and the cost of registration just went up. From April 1, the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation is set to hike the pet registration fees in the city, going from the current charge of INR 200 to INR 1000, according to senior civic officials.

City officials will also invite public suggestions and listen to suggestions regarding the GMC’s proposed dog policy. According to officials, Ghaziabad city is not receiving the number of pet registrations it should, with merely 5,925 pets out of roughly 15,000 in the city being registered with the GMC thus far.

“It is estimated that there are about 15,000 pets in the city. We are trying to expedite the registrations and urge pet owners to register before the annual registration fees is hiked to INR 1,000 from April 1. The hike is being affected in accordance with a decision taken by the board last week,” said Dr Anuj Singh, corporation’s chief veterinary and social welfare officer. “By next week, we are also trying to issue a public notice inviting public objections and suggestions on our by rules and regulations under the ‘dog policy’, which aims to regulate the keeping of pets in the city,” he added.

According to Dr Anuj Singh, pets who remain unregistered will lead to its owner being penalized for INR 5000. Pet by-laws have been approved by the board since September 2023, under the city’s proposed dog policy. According to officials, the by-laws outline several important things, such as the registration of pets, vaccination certificates, and sterilization certificates. The provisions also state that no more than five pets are allowed in residential areas, and that such a number would mean a move to an animal shelter. The provisions issued also include a previous proposal, which banned Rottweilers, Dodo Argentinos, and Pit Bulls on the basis of their reputation as aggressive breeds.

Meanwhile, pet parents and animal rights activists in the city have argued that the move to hike the registration fees is unwise and the hike itself is too steep. “The fee of INR 1,000 is high and should be reduced. There should be exemptions from registrations in cases where people adopted abandoned pets during the pandemic and has been taking care of them since then. We have prepared several objections against the proposed by-laws and will submit these to the corporation once they issue the public notice,” said Surbhi Rawat, president of People For Animal (PFA), Ghaziabad.