Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) veterinary department at present has only two permanent employees, while the remaining 96 staffers across 16 posts are working on a contractual basis.According to civic officials, this situation has hampered effective implementation of animal control measures, including a delay in appointing dedicated officials in each ward to address stray dog-related issues and finalising locations for shelter homes.As of now, the two permanent employees are the head of the veterinary department — an officer of deputy municipal commissioner rank — and the deputy HoD. Other key posts, including doctors, curators, animal keepers and pharmacists, are lying vacant. Civic officials said a proposal seeking approval for sanctioned staff strength for PCMC, which includes the veterinary department’s needs, has been pending with state govt for the past three years.The rise in stray dog numbers in civic limits and ineffective population management was raised during the PCMC general body meeting held last month. Some corporators demanded that urgent measures be taken by the civic administration in this regard.Last week, the civic body appointed ward-level officers to handle complaints related to stray dogs. “We have finalised locations for four shelter homes and are in the process of identifying four more. We plan to set up one shelter in each administrative zone,” said Sandip Khot, deputy municipal commissioner and head of the veterinary department.State govt’s final dog census figures from last year are yet to be released, but PCMC officials told TOI that they estimate the city has around one lakh stray dogs. They said 50% of these have been sterilised, including nearly 25% in the last five years.“Awareness campaigns are conducted regularly and around 10,000 stray dogs have been vaccinated against rabies in the financial year 2025-26. Nearly 30 stray dogs are sterilised daily by PCMC teams,” an official said, choosing to stay unnamed.In Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits, civic officials said a special drive is being carried out at the moment to expedite sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination efforts. A total of 47,273 stray dogs have been sterilised in FY 2025-26, while around 1.3 lakh dogs have been administered anti-rabies vaccines, a civic official said.
