PCMC struggles to find land for abattoir, meat shop owners face losses
PCMC shut its sole municipal slaughterhouse located near Indira Gandhi Railway Overbridge in Pimpri in 2014
Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) once again begins the decade-long search for location to build an abattoir after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday cancelled the proposed abattoir plan at Moshi near the pilgrimage town of Alandi.
PCMC has over 1,200 meat shops and some of its owners are left with no option but to slaughter animals at their places without ante-mortem inspection leaving untreated waste in the drainage after the civic administration shut its sole municipal slaughterhouse located near the Indira Gandhi Railway Overbridge in Pimpri in 2014.
With no local slaughterhouse, the shops are dependent on facilities in Pune city run by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Khadki Cantonment Board to carry out daily animal slaughtering. The arrangement has not only caused higher operational costs for shopkeepers but also created logistical challenges, especially for small businesses.
Duryodhan Bhapkar, former vice-president, Khadki Cantonment Board, said, “The slaughter house run by the cantonment has a daily capacity of around 10 to 15 animals. But there is no issue with meat owners sending animals from PCMC. However, we have requested the authorities to give us permission to increase the capacity of our facility.”
Arun Dagade, chief veterinary officer, PCMC, said, “PMC gives priority to animals brought by meat shop owners from their area. Hence, butchers in PCMC are suffering losses and there is shortage of meat in the twin city.”
Adding to the issues, PMC on May 23 sent a letter to its Pimpri-Chinchwad counterpart to stop sending animals to its abattoir. Officials from PMC cited overcapacity issues and an increase in effluent waste beyond the permissible limits set by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). PMC has only one abattoir in Kondhwa with a capacity of 150 big animals and 200 small animals.
“Every day, we have to send animals to Pune early in the morning and wait in long queues. Transporting the meat back takes time and money. Our margins are shrinking, and the situation is becoming unsustainable,” said Aslam Qureshi (name changed), a meat shop owner from Chinchwad.
A senior PCMC official said, “The lack of an abattoir is not just an economic issue, but also a public health and sanitation concern. Animals in slaughterhouses are cut only after ante-mortem inspection to identify if the livestock is sick, injured, or unfit for human consumption. The charges taken are ₹80 for big animals and ₹15 for small animals. Many butchers are left with no other option but to slaughter animals at their shops without ante-mortem,” he said.
