Slaughterhouse project fails to take off, illegal meat shops flourish in Faridabad

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, July 3

The project of the state-of-the-art slaughterhouse still hangs in balance eight years after its announcement. The project is stuck at the stage of implementation.

Most shops unauthorised

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The delay in building a slaughterhouse has given a free run to private meat shops, which do not care for cleanliness. Such shops pose a health risk to residents. A majority of private shops are unauthorised or unlicensed. A senior district official, Faridabad

The Faridabad Municipal Corporation has identified four sites in the district to build the slaughterhouse, but is yet to launch the project.

“Despite spending several crores on development, the district is yet to have an abattoir. The absence of one has led to mushrooming of private meat shops, which violate hygiene norms, posing a health risk to residents,” sources in the civic body said.

“Though the authorities have shortlisted four sites, the agency that was given the contract for the construction of the slaughterhouse could not start work due to protest by residents and technical issues, including the row over revision of the tender rates between the MC and contractor,” said a civic body official.

Sources claim that budget of Rs 22 crore was sanctioned in 2017-18, of which, an amount of Rs 13 crore was released by the state government. The rest of the cost was to be borne by the Union Government.

According to official sources, the delay in launching the work has led to holding of funds. They claim that over Rs 3 crore had already been spent in the process so far. The sites shortlisted for the abattoir are Sector 22-23, and Jharsently, Pali and Tikli Khera villages.

According to sources, Rs 1.5 crore has been spent on purchasing land in Khera village, but opposition by residents has held up the project.

Dr Nitish Parwal, Health Officer, MC, said: “The project, which is valued at Rs 30 crore, is under process. With no final site decided so far, outsourcing to a private company is also under active consideration.”