Pune: Pet owners are complaining that though the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) makes  a pet licence mandatory, they are discouraged from applying for the same due to the complicated process and citizen-unfriendly approach. As a result, a majority of pets in the city are not registered.

Recently, the PMC appealed to dog lovers to register their pets and take the licence, failing which it will take strict action. 

According to statistics provided by the PMC, around 1,500 pet dogs have been registered. The PMC issues licences to their owners. Later, the licence needs to be renewed every year.
 
Pet owners have to submit a form, along with the vaccination report for the dog and the registration fees depending on the dog’s age. Medical officials scrutinise the form and issue the licence to owners.
 
Vicky Paranjpye of Dhanori has a dog. He said, “The PMC website has online pet dog registration.
However, the licence is issued manually. It takes over two-three months. A few years ago, I received a metal badge displaying the registered number of my dog. Now, I have stopped renewing the licence.
However, I take care of my dog including vaccination and regular health check-up.”

A dog owner from Kothrud said, “I applied for the licence last year in July at the ward office. I visited the office thrice but could not find officials issuing the licence. Finally, I got the licence in December. Now, I came to know that the licence is valid till March 31, 2019. I will have to go through the tiresome procedure again to renew the licence.”

He said, “Pune is a smart city. They don’t have an online system to provide licences to pet owners. Citizens are obeying the law. The PMC’s lethargy is forcing pet lovers to not follow rules.”
  
The civic body charges Rs 50 per year to renew the licence, considering a dog’s life span to be average 13 to 14 years. 

Initially, one has to pay Rs 500 for the validity of licence for 10 years. Later, the owner has to renew the licence every year. The PMC issues the licence to pet dogs as pet animals.” 
 
PMC Assistant Medical Officer Manish Naik said, “We are working to make the pet dog registration online. Right now, we have a manual process for the licence. We have decentralised the dog registration process. There are five zones in the city, with more than five wards in each zone. Hence, a delay in issuing the licence is likely to happen. However, I will instruct officials to provide the licence within 15 days.”