Panaji : The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the Director of Panchayats to initiate disciplinary action against five village panchayat secretaries in Salcete for failing to comply with judicial directives on stray dog management across the state.
A division bench comprising Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit S Jamsandekar heard a suo motu writ petition concerning compliance with directives issued by the Supreme Court in a suo motu matter regarding stray dogs.
Amicus curiae Terence Sequeira informed the bench that the secretaries of five panchayats in Salcete — Ambelim, Benaulim, Colva, Davorlim-Dicarpale and Navelim — had failed to implement court orders issued on October 21 and October 26.
The High Court directed the Director of Panchayats to immediately initiate disciplinary proceedings under the applicable service rules against the defaulting secretaries. It also ordered the five secretaries to submit compliance reports to the Director of Animal Husbandry by November 16.
The court extended the deadline for the Department of Animal Husbandry to submit its comprehensive action plan to December 1.
The High Court also recorded an affidavit filed by the secretary of the Curca-Bambolim panchayat. The affidavit confirmed that the panchayat had granted a licence to the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) to construct an animal shelter on land under Survey Nos. 73/1-B and 77/2-A in the village.
The court directed the CCP Commissioner to process all financial, administrative and other necessary approvals within 10 days and commence construction at the site before the next hearing.
The commissioner has been directed to file an affidavit detailing the steps taken, along with a progress report from the site engineer.
The matter is scheduled for the next hearing on December 8, 2026.
