Delhi Reduces Meat Shop Distance to 100 Metres from Religious Places

Revised Regulation Aims to Address Meat Sellers' Concerns

Delhi's Municipal Corporation is allowing meat shops to be closer to religious places, reducing the required distance from 150 meters to 100 meters and making other rules more lenient.

This decision follows resistance from meat sellers in Delhi, concerned that the regulations introduced in October would negatively affect around 6,000 meat shops under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's authority, potentially leading to business closures.

During the final House meeting of 2023 on December 28, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi approved a revised proposal presented as a private member bill by AAP councillors Sultana Aabad and Amin Malik. The proposal suggested reducing the minimum distance between a meat shop and a religious place to 100 meters in densely populated areas, among other modifications, according to an official statement on Monday.

The updated proposal includes a reduction in the license renewal fee for meat shops, bringing it down to Rs 5,000 from the previously proposed Rs 7,000, as per the official statement.

Establishing a minimum distance of 150 meters between meat shops and religious places in densely populated areas like Old Delhi is considered practically unfeasible, according to the statement.

Sultana Aabad, the councillor from Jama Masjid, stated to PTI, "Reducing the limit to 100 metres is proposed to avoid inconvenience to meat sellers, especially in densely populated areas."

In October of last year, the civic body implemented a new licensing policy for meat shops, intending to standardize licensing fees across MCD zones and establish a minimum distance of 150 meters between meat shops and religious places.

The updated proposal reduces the fine for rule violations to Rs 10,000, as stated in the revised proposal.

Under the previous proposal, the fine for the first instance of rule violation was Rs 20,000, escalating to Rs 50,000 for subsequent rule breaks. The revised proposal lowers the fine to Rs 10,000.

Additionally, the Corporation has approved a reduction in the minimum area requirement for opening a meat shop to 50 sq ft, down from the previously set 60 sq ft.

Aabad added, "Many of these individuals are financially constrained, making it challenging to start a meat shop on a large land area. Additionally, in crowded areas with limited space, finding and renting a larger space becomes difficult."

Delhi traders expressed dissatisfaction with the raised annual charges.

The Delhi Meat Merchants Association opposed the proposal, expressing concerns about potential "corruption" and threatening legal action if the policy was not reversed.

The requirement for a minimum distance of 150 meters between a meat shop and religious places like temples, mosques, and gurudwaras was a component of a proposed policy for issuing new or renewed licenses for meat shops, approved on October 31 last year.