As per the order, institutions will be directly responsible for preventing incidents involving stray dogs on campus. To ensure compliance, professors or assistant professors must be appointed as nodal officers in every college and university. These nodal officers will coordinate regularly with the local administration, municipal corporation, municipal council or nagar panchayat for the removal and control of stray animals.
The department has appointed Dr T. Jalaja Nair as the state-level nodal officer. All institutional nodal officers will report to her and provide updates on compliance and incidents.
The guidelines require colleges and universities to display the name and mobile number of the nodal officer, along with relevant helpline details, on notice boards within the campus. Institutions must also send photographs of these display boards to the Directorate of Higher Education via WhatsApp on a designated number, to verify implementation of the order.
Faculty members have been instructed to ensure that food waste or edible material is not left in open areas, as it attracts stray animals. Continuous monitoring of campuses has been made mandatory to restrict and regulate the entry of stray dogs and other animals.
The department has also directed institutions to maintain a first-aid box on campus and organise awareness programmes for students and staff. These programmes will focus on preventive measures, safe behaviour around stray dogs and appropriate response during emergencies. Workshops are to be conducted in coordination with the animal husbandry and health departments.
In addition, colleges and universities have been advised to strengthen boundary walls wherever feasible to prevent the entry of stray animals. Publicity of the state helpline number 1100 has also been made compulsory for emergency assistance.
The order, issued by the Higher Education Commissioner’s office in Nava Raipur, stated that the measures are being implemented in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 05/2025. Clear instructions have been laid out in 13 points, extending strict monitoring from schools to higher education institutions across the state.
