Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s recent directive for strict implementation of the Supreme Court’s guidelines on strays has sparked a fresh debate over public safety and animal welfare. While activists and celebrities are pressing for a humane approach when tackling the issue, residents across the city are complaining of a rise in stray dog attacks in residential areas.The developments have also brought the Municipal Corporation’s (MC) Animal Birth Control programme under intense scrutiny.Launched in 2015, the drive dragged on at a snail’s pace for several years due to limited infrastructure, shortage of staff and lack of proper monitoring.In 2022, the civic body restarted the sterilisation campaign on a larger scale after a rise in complaints. It set an annual target of sterilising 25,000 dogs but officials concede it has not been met consistently.At present, the centre at Haibowal houses around 130 dogs in 16 kennels. Its manager, Arjun, said, “We are carrying out sterilisation following the complaints of the residents. Around 20 dogs are being sterilised every day.”Dr BK Gupta, the facility’s in-charge, added that the process takes about five days per dog. “Dogs are kept without food for nearly 15 hours before surgery. The department gets around ?1,200 per dog, covering rescue, transportation, surgery, vaccination, medicines and after-care,” he added.Concerns, however, have surfaced over hygiene, with allegations being made of food being prepared in the open. Animal lovers and residents have also pointed out that no ward-wise or block-wise survey was being conducted before sterilisation.Health Officer Vipan Malhotra said the state’s first dog sanctuary, set up by the MC four months ago, also shelters over 150 aggressive, abandoned, injured and critically ill dogs, while a new shed is being constructed to expand capacity by another 150.Shrishti Bhattacharya, who cares for the dogs at the sanctuary, said, “We have five big cages and seven small ones for aggressive dogs. We ensure wholesome meals twice a day and proper water intake, especially in summers. We are receiving more calls from people seeking action against aggressive strays following the Supreme Court guidelines.”However, residents remain dissatisfied. Ravinder Pal Singh Ghai, who recently flagged the rise in attacks in Gurdev Nagar, demanded greater transparency. “Rising dog attacks indicate the programme is falling short. We need a high-level inquiry and scientific mapping of the stray dog population,” he said.