BMC Slaps Notice To Kandivali BEST Staff Quarters After Eviction Threat To Veteran Over Stray Dog Feeding

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has cracked down on the management of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Staff Quarters in Kandivali (W) for asking the family of a retired employee to vacate the quarters because they were feeding stray dogs. The civic body's veterinary health department has served an educational notice to the society's leadership, warning them against obstructing animal feeders and mandating the allocation of a dedicated feeding spot.

Family accused of endangering residents and escalating dog-bite cases

On May 14, The Free Press Journal reported that BEST’s welfare wing served an eviction notice to Janardan Ohol (59), a retired employee, to vacate their staff quarters, located at Bajaj Road in Jethava Nagar. The public body's senior welfare officer had accused the family of four, living in the quarter for 10 years, of creating a "public nuisance," alleging that keeping pets and feeding strays on the premises endangered other residents and were escalating dog-bite cases.

Refusing to back down, the family maintained they were being systematically harassed despite feeding the animals at civic-designated spots. Following a complaint filed by Ohol’s son Kshitij, the Dog Control Unit of the BMC's Veterinary Health Department issued a stern directive addressed to the administrator of the staff quarters.

BMC's Dog Control Unit issues stern directive

The notice dismantled the BEST administration's anti-feeding stance, citing the central Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) guidelines and the Board's revised circular dated February 20, 2014. The civic body explicitly clarified that Indian law protects citizens who care for street animals. "There is no law that prohibits the feeding of street dogs. Citizens who choose to do so are in fact performing a duty cast upon them by the Constitution of India of showing compassion to all living creatures,” the notice read.

The notice emphasised that judicial courts across the country have consistently upheld the rights of street dog feeders, as regular feeding actively reduces human-animal conflict, minimises suspicion, and makes dogs more accessible for civic sterilisation drives. It reminded the BEST quarters management that under Indian jurisprudence, stray animals cannot be beaten, driven away, killed or dumped in different localities.

Judicial courts have consistently upheld feeders' rights

"They can merely be sterilized in the manner envisaged in the Animal Birth Control (Animal) Rules, 2001, vaccinated, and then returned to their original locations," the notice read, clarifying that the law strictly mandates returning dogs to their original habitat to stabilise the local canine population.

The BMC also sent a clear message that harassment of animal lovers can invite severe criminal prosecution while animal cruelty constitutes a punishable offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, alongside the criminal law, carrying penalties of fines and imprisonment.

“Any aggression or hostility that the animal may be subjected to, may render them aggressive and hostile to humans. They may then resort to snapping and biting in self-defence. If the same happens, the human aggressors shall be the only ones to blame,” the notice read.

Animal welfare activists and organisations, who had previously threatened to drag the BEST to the Bombay High Court over the eviction threat, have welcomed the BMC's swift action. Activists stated that the notice serves as a timely reminder to public utilities and residential societies that local bylaws cannot override constitutional duties and central wildlife laws.

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