CM Fadnavis cancels PCMC plan for slaughterhouse near Alandi

“The latest development plan of PCMC includes a reservation for a slaughterhouse in the Moshi-Alandi area. However, under no circumstances will a slaughterhouse be allowed there. I have issued orders to remove the reservation. I want to assure Warkaris and their leaders that there will absolutely not be a slaughterhouse,” the Chief Minister told reporters in Pune, where he had come for Yoga Day celebrations.

Just four days ago, when he attended a civic event at Chikhli in Pimpri-Chinchwad, the Chief Minister had asked Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh to cancel the civic plan for a Town Planning scheme in Charholi area. The CM’s response had come following protests from residents of Charholi. ”I am hereby directing the Municipal Commissioner to scrap the TP scheme plan in Charholi,” he had said when Bhosari MLA Mahesh Landge raised the issue in front of him.

With both its plans scrapped by the Chief Minister, the PCMC administration finds itself on a sticky wicket. Despite repeated calls, the civic chief was not available for comment. Other officials also refused to comment. PCMC city engineer Makrand Nikam said the slaughterhouse plan is looked after by the environment department. Sanjay Kulkarni, who heads the civic environment department, said his department was not concerned with the plan.

The objections to the slaughterhouse plan had first come from former BJP corporator Seema Sawale, who is also former PCMC standing committee chairperson. Sawale had filed her objections with PCMC and also sent a letter to the Chief Minister, urging him to cancel the slaughterhouse plan near Alandi.

“Alandi occupies a special place in the heart of the Marathi manoos. It is our religious and spiritual abode. It is the place from where Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj taught the world the values of unity and brotherhood and how we should treat everyone with respect and love. How dare anyone even dream of setting up a slaughterhouse near such a sacred place? It has hurt the sentiments of Warkaris. The PCMC officials have clearly erred on this count. We welcome the decision taken by the Chief Minister who has acted promptly in the matter. He has taken the decision just days after I alerted him through the complaint,” Sawale said. It is from Alandi that the tradition of Wari started some 800 years ago and which attracts lakhs to the temple town every June when the palkhi procession takes off to Pandharpur.

Sawale said the Chief Minister’s decisions have come as a big relief for residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad as there was lot of unrest among them.

”The CM has made correct decisions in the last four days. People were angry with the PCMC and the state government. The scrapping of both plans of PCMC will ease the tempers which had been running high,” she said.

When the CM had come for the inauguration ceremony for various development works in Pimpri-Chinchwad, local residents had also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister requesting the slaughterhouse reservation’s cancellation. BJP MLA Mahesh Landge also raised the demand with Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh and the Chief Minister.

In a statement, Mahesh Landge said, “The BJP-Mahayuti government in Maharashtra and the Centre is committed to working in the interest of faith, the nation, and religion. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has consistently taken a firm stance by pushing for laws to ban cow slaughter and promote cow protection and welfare. The administration earlier scrapped the TP (Town Planning) scheme in Chikhli and halted the one in Charholi, though some people tried to create confusion over the matter. The Chief Minister cleared the air and resolved the issue publicly in just a minute.”

Civic activist Avinash Chilekar said, “The PCMC administration has faced a huge embarrassment this week. Twice the Chief Minister has sort of reprimanded it for trying to implement wrong and anti-people plans.”

Chilekar said, “Not just the Charholi TP plan or the slaughter house plan, the Chief Minister will have to cancel the entire draft development plan. Because if the DP is implemented, thousands of residents will be displaced. Incidentally, the DP has favoured constructions on hilltops and hillslopes where the builders and affluent class has bought land. Therefore, I strongly feel the CM should not allow the PCMC administration to go ahead with the current draft DP. It should not be approved by the government.”