Violations found at Delhi abattoir

The committee in its recommendations said that the retention capacity of the treated water needs to be increased

Inspection by a National Green Tribunal (NGT)-appointed committee has found fresh anomalies in operations at the Ghazipur slaughterhouse, including the failure to install a bio-methanation plant, which has led to slapping of a hefty fine of ₹50 lakh on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in the form of environmental compensation.

The committee, which has prepared a report to submit to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has also asked MCD to prepare an action plan on how the treated wastewater will be used. (HT Photo)

The committee, comprising officials of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), during its inspection in May this year found that the slaughterhouse did not install the bio-methanation plant over a year after it was shut down on May 30, 2022 for violating pollution norms.

Although allowed to reopen in July 2022, the plant was provided a consent to operate (CTO) only on the condition that it will improve solid and liquid waste management in the area, which included the installation of a bio-methanation plant.

The committee, which has prepared a report to submit to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has also asked MCD to prepare an action plan on how the treated wastewater will be used, further asking them to hire an expert consultant, as the treated water was found to have very low biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels.

“A joint committee of the CPCB and DPCC officials inspected the Ghazipur Slaughterhouse on May 12, 2023. It was concluded by the committee that the MCD should install a bio-methanation plant to treat wastes such as rumen, stomach and intestine contents, dung and agriculture residues, at the earliest and should submit a detailed plan with regard to utilization of the by-products beyond NCR, if used as fuel. MCD should deposit an Environmental Compensation (EC) of ₹50 Lakhs, imposed by DPCC for non-installation of bio-methanation plant,” the report released on July 10 said.

HT reached out to MCD which did not respond to queries seeking a comment.

The committee in its recommendations said that the retention capacity of the treated water needs to be increased, further stating that there were anomalies in the water quality.

“The wastewater quality at the inlet has a low level in terms of BOD and COD. This does not represent an ideal concentration of wastewater from a slaughterhouse. Therefore, MCD should engage an expert government agency of this field, say CLRI, Chennai for environmental audit of the Plant,” the report stated, further asking for the Online Monitoring of Industrial Emission & Effluent (OCEMS) installed at the slaughterhouse site to be calibrated on a regular basis, with the data to be shared with both CPCB and DPCC.

Following the inspection, the report said that DPCC issued a letter to MCD on June 30 this year to submit the latest status of compliance. In its reply on July 4, MCD stated that while it had floated a tender for the bio-methanation plant, no bid was received. “The bid opening date for the same is July 21, 2023,” the report added.

The slaughterhouse was shut down last year after an inspection was carried out by DPCC, finding environmental norm violations, which included improper handling of waste, groundwater contamination and lack of safeguards in place. NGT had further 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, seeking relief, with the plant being allowed to open in July, if the safeguards mentioned, were met in the coming months.

Ghazipur slaughterhouse is the only legal abattoir in the city where goat, sheep and buffaloes are slaughtered to meet domestic demand. The facility, built at a cost of ₹150 crore by MCD, became operational in 2009. It has three slaughter halls — one for large animals and two for small animals.