But dog bite cases do not seem to go down and the civic body has now little hopes of any changes.

The programme, being run under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Scheme since August 2007 and jointly conducted by VMC and local animal NGOs, had set a target of sterilising 5,000 female dogs. The VMC, however, feels that the target is not being achieved.

“The government has allotted an amount of Rs 20 lakh to achieve this target, but the animal NGOs have been unable to meet it . The grant offers an amount of Rs 425 for the sterilisation of each dog, but the NGOs have been pointing out the shortage as well as late clearance of funds as the reason behind this backlog,” said M Jaiswal, the Market Superintendent of VMC and supervisor of the project.

A cumulative data from the City General Hospital, Civil Hospital and the VMC’s immunisation department puts the number of dogbite cases anywhere between 850 to 950 every month. Pointing out the indifference in the population of stray dogs and the unfaltering high in the number

of dog bite cases after the implementation of the scheme, many have asked for a proper cross-check by the VMC during the sterilisation process.

“A non-diminishing stray dog population and an increase in the number of dogbite cases indicates that there is some flaw in the entire process. There should be a proper check on whether the amount given to the NGO is being justified,” said opposition leader Chirag Zaveri.

Meanwhile, the VMC has no takers for the project in the next phase.