Srinagar, Dec 30: In a significant step to align with Supreme Court guidelines on animal welfare and to implement the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Jammu and Kashmir government accorded sanction for the constitution of its first Jammu and Kashmir Animal Welfare Board.
The sanction has been issued through an order promulgated in the name of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, in pursuance of directions of the Supreme Court of India.
The newly constituted board is envisaged as a comprehensive institutional platform to advise the government on policy, monitor enforcement, and promote public education on animal welfare across the Union Territory.
According to the order, the Board will function through coordinated engagement with government departments, non-governmental organisations and civil society groups to ensure humane treatment and protection of animals throughout J&K. It has been empowered to perform advisory, regulatory and educational roles, including recommending animal welfare laws, suggesting amendments to existing legislation, and framing subordinate rules, by-laws and statutes. The Board will also work to ensure consistency between municipal laws, UT statutes and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
The mandate of the Board includes facilitating and monitoring programmes such as anti-rabies vaccination, animal birth control, establishment and management of shelters and rescue centres, and conducting awareness and sensitisation drives. It will recommend financial allocations and prescribe eligibility criteria for certified proposals submitted by SPCAs and NGOs, which will then be forwarded to the Animal Welfare Board of India for central assistance and grants.
In addition, the Board will undertake periodic inspections of pet shops, breeders, animal markets and related establishments. It will be authorised to oversee registration of licensed entities and recommend suspension or cancellation of licences in cases of violations, through the competent authorities.
As per the composition notified, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir will serve as the Patron of the Board, while the Minister for Animal and Sheep Husbandry will be its Chairperson. The Board will include a wide range of ex-officio members, among them the Director General of Police or nominee; Administrative Secretaries of the Animal/Sheep Husbandry Department, Housing and Urban Development Department, Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Department; the Commissioners of Srinagar and Jammu Municipal Corporations; the Chief Wildlife Warden, J&K; Directors of Urban Local Bodies (Jammu and Kashmir); Directors of Rural Development (Jammu and Kashmir); Directors of Sheep Husbandry (Jammu and Kashmir); Directors of Animal Husbandry (Jammu and Kashmir); an expert veterinary representative from an Agriculture University; and the senior-most Secretary of the Animal Welfare Board of India.
The Board will also have nominated members, including two MLAs nominated by the Board, two representatives from animal welfare NGOs, two representatives from the Chairpersons of SPCAs (Jammu and Srinagar), a representative from the Animal Husbandry Department, two eminent individuals working in the field of animal welfare, and experts from legal, environmental and social domains.
Officials said the constitution of the Board marks a long-awaited institutional mechanism to strengthen animal welfare governance in Jammu and Kashmir, in line with national law and judicial directions.