Surat Dog Owners Push Back Against Rule Requiring NOC from 10 Neighbours

Surat: A recent enforcement drive by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has stirred backlash among the city’s dog-owning community. A largely overlooked rule from 2008 is now being strictly applied, demanding pet owners obtain No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from at least 10 neighbours and the society president before they can register their dog and receive a licence.

This requirement, once dormant, has resurfaced in the wake of a tragic incident in Ahmedabad involving a Rottweiler and an infant. But for Surat’s pet lovers, the rule feels excessive, even discriminatory. Beyond neighbour approval, applicants must also provide Aadhaar details, a municipal tax bill or rent agreement, a notarised undertaking, photographs of the pet, and complete vaccination records, among other documentation.

Defending the rule, a senior health department official from SMC said, “The rule was approved by the SMC general body in 2008. By issuing a licence, the municipal corporation authorises the applicant to own a pet. The owner is then expected to follow the guidelines.”

However, activists and pet parents argue that the rule lacks both legal merit and ethical grounding. Ashit Gandhi, board director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCAs) in Surat, said, “The NOC of 10 neighbours and society president is unlawful. A society or people do not have any power to issue such NOC. The basis on which SMC is claiming to implement these rules is a resolution passed for buffalos.”

Pet owners say the rule is not only intrusive but could heighten conflict within residential societies. “The NOC rule is a baseless and unusual mandate. It is a major hurdle in pet registration process,” said Dhruvin Thakar, a dog owner in Surat. Gitanjali Italia, who cares for a rescued dog, added, “Most pet owners who feed street dogs already face neighbourhood hostility. Now these same neighbours hold veto power over our pets' legal status. It's a recipe for conflict.”

The outcry has sparked resistance. Dog lovers across Surat are holding awareness drives and filing memorandums to challenge the policy. Meanwhile, internal rumblings at SMC suggest that public pressure may force revisions. “If the majority of owners have issues with it, some changes will be made,” said an official on condition of anonymity, confirming that complaints had reached the district collector’s office.

Other cities in Gujarat, however, have distanced themselves from the Surat model. An Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation official clarified, “We have no such requirement. This rule is only being implemented by SMC and contradicts Animal Welfare Board of India guidelines. Ahmedabad has a large number of bungalows and farmhouses, and requiring neighbours' NOC for pet dog registration in such cases would make registration impossible.”

Vadodara, too, is taking a lighter approach. “We are not doing any registrations. The application must have the breed, its vaccination status and other details,” said Vijay Panchal, market superintendent at Vadodara Municipal Corporation. He added that the city is still in the process of developing its pet ownership guidelines.

From a national perspective, the Indian National Kennel Club has also weighed in. Its president Phiroze Javeri stated, “The imposition of such conditions by SMC is untenable. Neither the housing society nor the neighbours have a right to impose their prejudices or wishes upon a resident who wants to keep a dog or dogs within his/her residence. The only condition that may be reasonably imposed is to take an undertaking from the owner that no nuisance would be caused to others.”

With legal ambiguities and civic pressure mounting, SMC may soon have to reevaluate whether neighbour consent has any place in the personal act of pet ownership.