Jaipur: Of the 314 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across Rajasthan, the state govt has never implemented the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme in more than 300 ULBs, figures came to light after the state govt compiled data from different ULBs.“Subsequent govts in Raj never took the ABC programme seriously. That is the reason why this programme was never implemented in most of the ULBs across the state. In most ULBs, where the state govt has implemented the ABC programme, the implementation is sporadic,” a senior official from the Local Self Government (LSG) department said.According to data available from govt officials and animal activists, the state govt initiated the ABC programme in the two ULBs of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota. Besides, this programme had also been implemented in Udaipur, Bharatpur, Shahpura, Bhilwara and Bikaner. In addition, the state govt had earlier initiated ABC programme at two to three municipalities of the state, which has ceased now.Although ULBs like Tonk and Dholpur had recently floated tenders, these were not for ABC programme but only to catch stray animals like dogs, monkeys or cows. “In Bharatpur and Bikaner, the implementation of the programme has been sporadic. In the two ULBs of Kota and in JMC (Heritage), the programme is now halted as the state govt has floated tenders to appoint agencies to implement the programme,” said an official.Officials said, after the Supreme Court’s directive on Aug 22, the state govt floated a policy and asked to submit status report related to ABC programme and infrastructure from all the ULBs within a month. “Most ULBs did not respond. The fact is that most ULBs don’t have any infrastructure. Nor have they implemented the ABC programme ever. In fact, officials only from Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur had gone to Delhi to share status with the additional advocate general (AAG) of the state for Supreme Court,” stated another official.
