Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Nearly 56% of government and private-run buildings in Madhya Pradesh, including schools, hospitals and colleges, do not have boundary walls, leaving them vulnerable to the entry of stray dogs and other animals.
A state-wide survey conducted in compliance with Supreme Court directions has revealed that around 48,000 public and private institutions across the state lack basic protective infrastructure, raising serious concerns over public safety and dog bite incidents.
According to Urban Administration Department (UAD), the survey forms part of the state government’s compliance report submitted to the Supreme Court on January 7, this year. Based on the findings, the government has issued detailed instructions to various departments to strengthen stray dog management and expedite the construction of boundary walls at sensitive public locations.
The survey highlights wide gaps across departments. In the health sector, over 61% of hospitals and primary health centres do not have boundary walls. In the school education, sports and youth welfare sector, nearly 55% of buildings lack boundary walls. In the higher education department, construction has been completed in 260 colleges, while around 250 colleges are still awaiting approval for boundary wall construction.Only 61 colleges received approval in the 2025–26 financial year.
An UAD official told Free Press that a consolidated compliance report on all measures was submitted to the Supreme Court on January 10.
SOP implementation
To address the growing menace of stray dogs, the Madhya Pradesh government issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on January 2, 2026, followed by directives to all district collectors on January 4 for strict implementation. The SOP outlines coordinated action at district, urban and rural levels, with a focus on prevention, monitoring and infrastructure development.
80,704 stray dogs sterilized in 2025
Under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme, 80,704 stray dogs were sterilized in 2025 across 19 urban local bodies through 16 registered agencies operating 19 ABC centres. In the first phase, approvals have been granted for 54 ABC centres and 136 shelter homes across the state.
Status of boundary walls across departments
In the higher education department, boundary walls have been constructed in 260 colleges, while construction is planned in 250 more colleges. For 2025–26, boundary wall construction has been approved in 61 colleges.
Under the school education, sports and youth welfare department, boundary walls have already been built in 49,432 institutions, with construction planned in 40,545 additional institutions.
The public health and family welfare department operates 11,840 hospitals and primary health centres. Out of these, 4,573 facilities already have boundary walls.
