New License Policy On Meat Shops Near Religious Places In Delhi, Association Says Will Move Court

This new policy aims to maintain a minimum distance between meat shops and religious places or cremation grounds to ensure respect for religious sentiments and public pathways.

Image used for representational purposes only | The new policy says that the minimum distance between a meat shop and a religious place or cremation ground must not be less than 150 meters.

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The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House on Tuesday approved a meat shop license policy that imposes restrictions on the opening of meat shops within 150 meters of religious places. This new policy aims to maintain a minimum distance between meat shops and religious places or cremation grounds to ensure respect for religious sentiments and public pathways, news agency PTI reported. According to the policy, the minimum distance between a meat shop and a religious place or cremation ground must not be less than 150 meters.

However, the MCD will not take the distance between the shop and a religious place into consideration if the place of worship was established after the grant of the license, PTI reported. Additionally, the policy allows for the opening of a meat shop selling approved species near a mosque, except pork, if the applicant obtains a 'no objection certificate' from the mosque committee or imam.

"Why would an illegal shop owner who finds it difficult to pay even Rs 2,700 will now pay Rs 7,000 as renewal charges, if he can manage by paying a little amount to the local police? This will actually cause a huge loss in revenue to the MCD and also lead to corruption," an official of the association told PTI.

The association threatened to take the matter to court and stage demonstrations if the policy is not rolled back, PTI's report mentioned.

The policy outlines that the distance between a meat shop and a religious place will be measured exclusively through public pathways or roads. It is set to replace all other existing policies for granting new or renewed licenses for meat shops under the jurisdiction of the MCD.

The new policy takes into consideration the sentiments of people visiting religious places and imposes fees for issuing and renewing licenses for meat shops across the erstwhile north, south, and east corporations of the MCD. The fees for meat shops are up to Rs 18,000, while processing units could face charges of up to Rs 1.5 lakh.

The policy also stipulates that all fees and penalties will increase by 15 per cent every three financial years from the date of license issuance, the report stated. In residential areas, the minimum allowed size for a meat shop is 20 square meters, as per the Delhi Master Plan 2021. However, there are no size restrictions for shops in commercial areas. For meat processing plants, the mandated minimum size is 150 square meters.

The approval of the meat shop license policy was among several proposals passed by the MCD House amid disruptions during its brief proceedings. 

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