All bark, no bite: Chandigarh admn fails to unleash dog bylaws

The rules seek to regulate the presence of pet dogs in the city’s public spaces; pets will be barred from high-footfall green areas such as Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden, Rose Garden and Leisure Valley

It has been over two months since the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) approved the final draft of the Pet and Community Dogs Bylaws, 2025. But their enforcement remains muzzled amid UT administration’s delay in issuing a notification.

The Pet and Community Dogs Bylaws place direct responsibility on pet owners for any injuries caused by dog bites or damage to property. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The bylaws, first introduced in the MC House in October 2023, were aimed at replacing the outdated 2010 regulations to give the civic body more teeth in tackling issues of pet registration, owner responsibility and management of community dogs.

However, despite the House’s approval, the delay in notification means the provisions remain only on paper.

Once the bylaws are implemented, the penalty for violations is expected to rise by as much as 200 times. They also place direct responsibility on pet owners for any injuries caused by dog bites or damage to property.

“The agenda was first approved in the general House of MC in March 2024. After that, UT had made the draft public and had invited suggestions from the general public before notifying the laws. After collecting the suggestions and changing the clauses as per need, the draft was finally approved by MC House in June this year. The documentation already took more than a year and now the implementation is hanging fire,” said MC officials, further cautioning that cases of dog bites were also increasing as residents continue to feed community dogs in public areas.

Residents already owning these banned breeds will be given a 45-day buffer period to register their dogs after notification of bylaws. Failure to comply will lead to penalties and possible impoundment.

To ensure public safety, the draft mandates that all dogs be leashed in public and aggressive breeds must be muzzled. Escorts of such breeds must carry a stick, and in case of severe aggression or damage, dogs may be seized and penalties imposed.

In a move to prevent public health hazards, owners will no longer be allowed to dispose of deceased pets in garbage bins. Cremation or private burial will be mandatory. The draft also proposes a complete ban on commercial breeding or trading of dogs within city limits.

Besides this, MC also put a limit on the number of permissible dogs in each house. As per the new bylaws, in houses with less than 5 marla, people can only have one dog but the count can be maximised to three in case more than one family is residing in the same house, but on different floors.

For 5 to 12 marla houses, two dogs are allowed but can be maximised to three with the same provision. For 12 marla to 1 kanal houses, three dogs are allowed, but one of them must be an adopted mongrel/Indie dog. The number can be maximised to 5 dogs per house in case of multiple families.

For houses with more than one kanal, four dogs can be permitted, but two of them must be adopted. The maximum can be six dogs per house.

If anyone is found to have kept dogs over the prescribed limit, the unregistered dogs will be impounded and a penalty will be imposed on the owner.

For community dogs, the bylaws require resident welfare associations (RWAs) to designate feeding zones and violation of these zones is deemed cognisable under law.

Violation will also invite fines up to ₹10,000, seizure and sale of the unclaimed dogs.