Slaughterhouse in Kondhwa fail to comply with pollution norms despite repeated notices

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has issued yet another notice to the chief medical officer for health, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) over environmental violations by a slaughterhouse in Kondhwa.

The notice, issued on February 28, cites multiple complaints from residents regarding water and air pollution allegedly caused by the facility. This is the second notice since June last year.

The slaughterhouse is owned by the PMC and the extended facility is on PCB land.

Residents of Nancy Garden Cooperative Housing Society and other nearby areas in Wanowrie have raised complaints about the issue. Following these complaints, MPCB officials inspected the site on February 28 and issued a notice on the same day.

Kunal Borade, a resident of Wanworie, said, “The problem is severe and has been affecting us for many years now. There was no help from the PMC as they kept postponing the duty stating various reasons. The residents in the area are following up on the issue with many authorities including MPCB and the state government, but so far there is no permanent solution.”

During the inspection, the official found that the slaughterhouse is not operating its effluent treatment plant (ETP) and discharging the untreated effluent into Bhairoba Nala. Due to excess overflow of untreated effluent, the drainage system was choked, and this resulted in reddish colour effluent spreading in the surrounding and on the nearby road.

Based on their observation, the board officials on provisions under Section 33A of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Section 31A of the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 issued a notice to the PMC as well the PCB administration.

According to the board, the slaughterhouse was granted consent to operate under specific environmental conditions. However, recent findings indicate potential violations that may be affecting the quality of air and water in the vicinity.

JS Salunkhe, regional officer, MPCB, said, “The slaughterhouse has the ETP facility, however, the effective implementation of consent condition has been a major issue. Previously when we issued notice to the management, the issue was resolved for the time being but after again the situation has worsened.”

“The MPCB has urged both, PMC and PCB, to take immediate corrective measures to address pollution concerns. We are now awaiting a response from the slaughterhouse representative and if not found satisfactory, strict action will be taken against them,” he said.

Prithviraj BP, additional municipal commissioner, said, “The drainage line was choked at this slaughterhouse facility and after learning about this, our staff already started repair work here. Meanwhile, we have also restricted the activities at the slaughterhouse. Once the repair work is completed, the issue will get resolved at least for now.”

“To mitigate the issue, we will soon be undertaking the renovation and modernization work at the slaughterhouse. For this ₹7 crore has been sanctioned by the World Bank. We have received the in-principle approval for the same. After receiving the final approval from the state government, the tender will be issued, and actual work will start. Once this modernised facility is set up, all the issues regarding health and hygiene will be resolved permanently,” he said.

Despite multiple attempts the PCB officials were not available for comment.