‘Can’t you demolish?’: Bombay High Court to Mumbai civic body over illegal meat shops

The Bombay High Court directed the Mumbai civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), to submit a plan to permanently stop illegal meat, poultry, and fish shops from operating within a 10-kilometer radius of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Deeming the matter serious, the court suggested it might later order police protection for civic officers during enforcement operations to prevent intimidation.

An interim application was filed by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), seeking compliance with previous court orders on the issue of birds being attracted to illegal slaughtering sites, which could escalate safety concerns. MIAL argued that earlier directives were not sufficiently implemented over a decade, thereby requesting the court to instruct the BMC to finalize a scheme.

The BMC submitted a report detailing 323 unauthorized meat shops in 13 municipal wards between January and August. However, the court questioned why these shops reopened despite enforcement actions. The BMC acknowledged that vendors continued operations on non-enforcement days, but claimed that several shops were closed during drives.

This inconsistency highlighted the ongoing illegal activities in the area. The court questioned whether the shops could not be demolished if they were completely unauthorized. Given the challenges faced by officials during enforcement drives in areas like Kurla, the court suggested that senior police personnel could be permanently deployed to safeguard civic officers during these operations.

The BMC was given time to present a comprehensive scheme with a list of licensed shops, and the matter was scheduled for further hearing after two weeks.