Chandigarh, Sept. 2 -- A sharp rise in dog bite cases in Haryana has exposed serious lapses in the implementation of the stray dog sterilisation programme with the Panipat municipal corporation carrying out zero sterilisation in 2023-24 despite having a Rs.96 lakh budget. Dog bite cases in Panipat doubled from 17,766 in 2022-23 to 36,336 in 2024-25 in two years. These are the findings of an audit report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Haryana's urban local bodies for the period ending March 2024 which was tabled in the state assembly on Tuesday. The CAG said that the shortfall in sterilisation of dogs contributed to the increased population of dogs and biting incidents. According to the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, pet dog owners shall be responsible for controlled breeding, immunisation, sterilisation and licensing whereas street dogs shall be sterilised and immunised by participation of animal welfare organisations, private individuals, and the local authority. The CAG said the Panipat municipal corporation in January 2021 engaged an agency for sterilisation of dogs till June 2021, further extended till June 2022. "However, no survey or assessment of number of dogs population was conducted before awarding the work of sterilisation by the MC Panipat in discharge of its function under Rule 5(e) of the ABC Rules, 2001, which provided that for planning and management of dog control programme, a survey of the number of street dogs shall be done by an independent agency,'' the audit report said. The CAG said that the agency conducted a total of 6,187 sterilisations of stray dogs up to June 2022 including 2,176 sterilisations up to June 2021. The auditors said that the state government should ensure that municipalities construct cattle pounds for impounded stray animals, make dog registration mandatory with prescribed fees, to support regulatory functions and Municipal revenue generation and constitute a three-tier committee to achieve dog-sterilisation targets....