Animal NGO has only general certificate: Maneka Gandhi

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Amid controversy over the recognition of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) for an NGO roped in for dog sterilisation in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Lok Sabha MP Maneka Gandhi has claimed that the organisation has a general certificate.
Gandhi, who is also an animal rights activist, has written to the local animal rights group. She has claimed that the NGO has obtained only a general certificate from the AWBI.
“There is a general certificate given to any organisation that applies for recognition and more than 25,000 NGOs have that. You simply pay a fee and get the recognition. There is a specific recognition for NGOs who want to do animal birth control. They are checked, trained and only then recognition is given,” Gandhi has stated.
Earlier, the NGO had produced a recognition letter from AWBI after the Board itself issued a letter to the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) seeking its termination for not having the recognition.
Animal rights activist, Berryl Sanchis, said the CSMC needs to dig deep into the whole matter. “The website of AWBI has a list of NGOs that have been funded for animal birth control. The name of the NGO hired by the local civic body is missing from the list,” she said.