Delhi HC direct AAP to shut down poultry slaughter housed in Ghazipur

The Delhi High Court today directed the AAP government's Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB) to shut down all the poultry slaughterhouses running from its premises at Ghazipur here without the approval of the pollution controlling body DPCC.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao also directed the DAMB to remove from the site the slaughterhouses which were operating illegally.

"You (DAMB) have not done it. You are the custodian of the property. You have authorized someone to carry out this activity on your premises. You were to close it. You have to do it," the court said.

It directed the board to comply with the April 24 order of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to shut down the slaughterhouses and submit a report by September 6, the next date of hearing, indicating compliance of the direction.

The DPCC, represented by advocate Sanjeev Ralli, on April 24 had directed closure of the slaughterhouses operating from inside the DAMB premises at Ghazipur Mandi in East Delhi.

The court also said that the DAMB cannot lay the blame on the traders.

The DAMB, in its defense, contended that it had removed those butcher shops which were operating on the roadside near its premises and added that shutting down the slaughterhouses would not be a solution as the sellers will sell the poultry meat on the streets.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that poultry birds are being traded and slaughtered illegally at the mandi.

The plea by animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi has contended that there was "blatant violation" of mandatory health checks and veterinary screening of the birds which leads to the spreading of infectious diseases such as avian flu.

The petition also draws attention to the conditions the birds are being kept in, saying they are "tied up and hung upside down, de-feathered, stuffed in wire cages without sufficient food or water and slaughtered while alive".

It has further claimed that waste generated as a result of the slaughter of the birds was not properly disposed of and was either flushed down the drain ending up in the rivers or dumped in open grounds.

It has sought directions to the authorities to "forthwith stop the illegal slaughter of poultry birds at the Ghazipur Mandi" as well as form a committee for carrying out weekly inspections of the area.

The plea has also sought that the birds be examined by the authorities and veterinarians after they are transported to the mandi to ensure none of them is infected with any disease.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)