NMC Starts Online Registration of Pet Dogs

Nagpur: To make the pet dog licensing process easier on pet parents, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started an online registration process on Friday, June 7, 2024. 

“This move, approved by municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari and additional commissioner Anchal Goyal, aims to monitor anti-rabies vaccinations for dogs. Failure to register may lead to imposition of fines on owners,” said deputy municipal commissioner (SWM) and veterinary department incharge Dr Gajendra Mahalle. 

Once a pet dog has been registered, the NMC issues a pet licence to the pet parent which must be renewed yearly. While there are thousands of dogs residing within the NMC’s jurisdiction, only 810 owners have registered their pets thus far. Registration can be done through an offline procedure at one of 10 zonal offices present in Nagpur. 

In a similar trend, only 200 citizens have registered their pets and obtained a pet license within the current fiscal year. Dr Gajendra Mahalle has assured people that the scheme has a straightforward, simple, and transparent, and that it will help owners obtain a certificate within a day. 

In 2022, the NMC hiked the pet license fees from INR 200 to INR 500. They also relaxed a registration prerequisite, which required pet parents to obtain NOC from their neighbors if they kept three pets or less. To encourage the adoption of stray and street dogs, the NMC has waived the registration fees for owners of rescued, injured, or abandoned stray dogs. For other sterilized breeds, the NMC will charge INR 200 per dog as license fees. 

“As per the policy, those submitting sterilization certificates issued by a registered veterinarian who performed the surgery will get ?300 refund,” pointed out the DYMC. If the neutering certificate is found out to be fake or forged, the dog owner will be fined 20,000 INR. If the authorities find that the certificate was given without performing the procedure, they will be charged INR 20,000. 

“It will be necessary to register the pets within a certain period. If not done so, the dog owner will be charged ?5,000 as administrative penalty,” the policy stated.