Delhi: Have approved ingesta plant for Ghazipur abattoir, MCD tells NGT

Ingesta plants are set up to process the undigested waste of animals, which, along with dung, is converted into bio-fertilizer

More than three years after Delhi’s only legal slaughterhouse at Ghazipur was shut down for flouting environmental norms, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that its standing committee has approved the installation of an ingesta plant — one of the conditions required for reopening the abattoir.

Delhi: Have approved ingesta plant for Ghazipur abattoir, MCD tells NGT

MCD said that once the work order is issued, it will take three to six months to complete the installation.

Ingesta plants are set up to process the undigested waste of animals, which, along with dung, is converted into bio-fertilizer.

“Senior counsel appearing for the MCD submits that the meeting of the standing committee was held on July 16… wherein the standing committee has approved the proposal for installation of the ingesta plant and the work order will be issued within two weeks. She submits that on the issuance of the work order, the work of installation of the ingesta plant will be completed within three to six months,” a bench headed by NGT chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava said in an order dated July 30.

The tribunal has directed the MCD to file the minutes of the meeting and the work order, along with a progress report, within eight weeks. The matter will be heard next on October 30.

The NGT had ordered the slaughterhouse shut in May 2022 for violations including improper handling of waste, groundwater contamination, and inadequate safeguards to prevent environmental pollution. The tribunal had directed the MCD, which runs the facility, to take corrective action.

In June that year, the NGT allowed the MCD to resume operations, subject to the installation of an ingesta or dung-drying plant, among other waste management upgrades. One of the other requirements — an RO plant — was installed by the concessionaire operating the slaughterhouse under a public-private partnership model.

However, the ingesta plant remained pending, with the MCD previously citing the absence of a constituted standing committee due to political tussles.

Last year, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) also imposed a ₹50 lakh environmental compensation on the MCD for failing to operationalise the plant. The amount is yet to be submitted.

The Ghazipur slaughterhouse, which became operational in 2009 after the Idgah facility was shut, has a capacity of 15,000 animals per day across three shifts.