City's only abattoir shut for flouting environmental norms

Hindustan Times

4 days ago

PUNE: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has ordered the closure of Pune's only civic-run slaughterhouse at Kondhwa for allegedly violating environmental norms. The facility, operated by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), was shut on Tuesday evening following an inspection that revealed direct discharge of untreated effluents into the city's drainage network, which eventually flows into the Mula-Mutha river via Bhairoba Nalla. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has ordered the closure of Pune's only civic-run slaughterhouse at Kondhwa for allegedly violating environmental norms. (HT)
The complete closure operations, being implemented from Wednesday, has sparked concern among traders and butchers over potential meat shortages in both Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, especially when the month of Ashad as per Hindu calendar has started, with demand for meat going up.
Fears have also been raised over a possible surge in illegal animal slaughter, which poses a serious public health risk due to the absence of ante-mortem inspection meant to prevent diseased or unfit animals from entering the food chain.
The MPCB issued the closure order on June 24, followed by a prosecution notice on June 30, under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. Officials confirmed that the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) disconnected the electricity supply as part of the enforcement. However, the slaughterhouse continued operations using a diesel generator, in violation of the order. Additionally, PMC failed to disconnect the water supply as mandated.
An MPCB official said, 'The facility has been discharging waste directly into drainage lines, which has been entering residential drainage systems. PMC's failure to comply with repeated instructions has now led to the closure. Since Wednesday, slaughtering activity has completely stopped.'
The abattoir has a sanctioned capacity to process 150 large animals and 200 small animals per day, though it rarely operates at full capacity. However, it remains the only operational slaughterhouse for meat vendors across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. PMC levies a nominal charge of ₹80 for large animals and ₹15 for small animals per slaughter. Now, with the closure, butchers are facing a crisis.
The MPCB's crackdown followed complaints from residents of Nancy Garden and nearby areas in Wanowrie on February 28, 2025. An inspection was conducted the same day, and directions issued. Closure orders followed on May 8 and were reiterated on June 24, followed by prosecution action.
Regional officer B. M. Kukade of MPCB said, 'PMC has failed to comply with consent conditions and has been willfully causing pollution, endangering public and aquatic health. The civic body and those responsible for daily operations have been asked to explain why prosecution should not be launched under the Water Act.'
Widespread Impact
The shutdown has disrupted meat supply to lakhs of consumers and rendered several families, dependent on the meat trade, without livelihood. Local butcher Sadiq Qureshi said, 'The slaughterhouse has existed since British times. The Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) was installed in 2013 following government directions. Residential societies came up later in the area, and during the monsoon, their drainage systems - connected to slaughterhouse lines - got clogged. This was later made into an issue.'
Qureshi added that community members met MPCB and PMC officials and submitted a request to restart the facility. 'Hundreds of families will lose income if the slaughterhouse remains shut,' he said.
According to PMC officials, the slaughterhouse machinery is 10-15 years old and suffers frequent breakdowns. A proposal to privatise the facility was made two years ago, but it was not approved due to administrative hurdles.
PMC has now appointed M/s MITCON as consultants to upgrade the plant. Plans are underway to expand the ETP capacity from 60 KLD to 150 KLD and install a new blood processing unit of 5 KLD capacity.
PMC promises compliance
Dr Sarika Funde-Bhosale, chief veterinary officer, PMC, said, 'We will comply with all MPCB directives. The procurement process for augmenting the ETP and installing the blood processing unit has begun. These facilities will be operational soon.'
She further said that due to the shutdown of the Kondhwa facility, around 100 animals per day are no longer being slaughtered. 'This was communicated to the MPCB. Meanwhile, bio-waste from earlier operations is being processed as compost with the help of JCB and Hyva machines as per PMC's general body resolution,' she added.