Joint panel tells NGT: Ghazipur abattoir now green compliant

The Ghazipur slaughterhouse in Delhi has become compliant in terms of treatment of wastewater and other environmental norms, according to a joint committee. However, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has yet to submit the environmental compensation fine of INR 50 lakh ($70,000). The committee also noted that a bio-methanation plant still needs to be installed at the site.

A joint committee of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Friday informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the Ghazipur slaughterhouse is now compliant in terms of treatment of wastewater, effluents and other environmental norms for which it was fined ₹50 lakh in the past.

New Delhi, India - May 31, 2016: General View of National Green Tribunal in New Delhi , India, on Tuesday, May 31, 2016. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

However, this environmental compensation (EC) is yet to be submitted by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The committee, appointed by NGT, in the submission dated January 11, has also said a bio-methanation plant was yet to be installed by MCD at the site — one of the conditions based on which a fresh consent to operate (CTO) was granted to MCD to operate the slaughterhouse.

A conditional CTO was granted on September 22, 2023, which required MCD to install a bio-methanation plant within six months, failing which the CTO would once again lapse.

“DPCC extended the validity period of CTO on September 22, 2023, for six months with the terms and conditions including the installation of a bio-methanation plant within six months,” said the submission.

In a previous inspection on August 7, 2023, the committee found effluents were not reaching the effluent treatment plant (ETP), with a bypass system in place. However, in the latest inspection made on December 28, 2023, the bypass system was found blocked with concrete and the effluents only entered ETP and the treated wastewater was also meeting CPCB’s standards for slaughterhouses.

“The wastewater quality at the inlet and outlet represents the ideal concentration of wastewater for slaughterhouse and meeting the prescribed notified norms,” the report said, adding MCD was in the process of installing a bio-methanation plant.

“As reported by MCD, the engineering department of MCD is in the process of establishing such a plant. It is informed that tenders have been floated for the fifth time and two bids have been received, which have been examined. MCD should expedite the installation process,” it added.

The Ghazipur slaughterhouse — Delhi’s only legal abattoir, where goats, sheep, and buffaloes are slaughtered to meet the domestic demand — was shut down in May 2022, after an inspection by DPCC found several environmental violations. This included improper handling of waste, groundwater contamination, and lack of safeguards in place for environmental pollution. NGT had asked for the slaughterhouse to ensure 100% re-circulation of treated water and the adoption of the zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) system.

For its reopening, MCD filed a review petition before NGT on June 19 of the same year, seeking relief, with the plant being allowed to open in July if the safeguards mentioned were met in the coming months.

HT reached out to MCD which did not respond to queries.