New Delhi, Aug. 12 -- Delhi's civic authorities are staring at an impossible task after the Supreme Court on Monday ordered that all stray dogs in the city be rounded up within two months, experts warned, highlighting how the city has no permanent dog shelter, no updated count of its stray population, inadequate manpower, and no funds to feed or house the estimated million-odd animals. From space requirements to funding gaps, experts and officials agree: the capital is simply not equipped to execute the order. They add that the failure of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) Animal Birth Control (ABC) and immunisation programme has worsened the problem, making large-scale capture and housing both impractical and inhumane. At present, MCD operates 20 Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres in partnership with NGOs. These are temporary holding units for sterilisation, where dogs are kept for up to 10 days post-surgery before being released back to their territories -- a system in line with the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2023. Turning these ABC units into permanent shelters, officials warn, would at best accommodate 3,500-4,000 dogs at a time. With Delhi's street dog population estimated close to a million, that would leave more than 96% of the animals without a place to go. Feeding costs alone could cripple the cash-strapped MCD. Standing committee chairperson Satya Sharma estimates that even at a modest Rs.40 per dog per day, feeding close to a million dogs would cost around Rs.3 crore daily - or over Rs.1,000 crore a year. Maneka Gandhi, former MP and animal rights activist, called the SC's timeline "impossible" without billions in funding. "They would need 1,000-2,000 centres so dogs don't fight, all located away from residential areas. Construction alone would cost Rs.4-5 crore per centre. Feeding alone could cost Rs.5 crore a year for the most basic arrangement. Overall, they'd be looking at spending around Rs.10,000 crore - money the Delhi government simply does not have," she said. Under current rules, each dog needs a minimum of 12 sq ft of space during sterilisation. For permanent housing, veterinary experts say, that rises to 40-45 sq ft per dog to prevent stress, disease and fights. "To humanely house even half the estimated population, you'd need hundreds of acres and thousands of enclosures. You can't just pile dogs into overcrowded sheds - they will fight and die in large numbers," said Ravindra Sharma, former director of veterinaryservices....