Mira-Bhayandar: Anger continues to brew in the coastal areas of Uttan near Bhayandar over the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation's (MBMC) controversial decision of setting up a slaughterhouse in the region.
Irate over the acquisition process initiated by the civic administration, more than 5,000 voters from the coastal belt have dashed-off letters to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to register their protest against the proposed facility.
Agitated land owners objections unheard
As per information sourced from MBMC's town planning department, survey number 285 (a) was earmarked as a reserved plot for setting up a slaughterhouse in the twin-cities' first development plan (DP) which was published in 1997. More than a decade later, the coastal belt including Uttan was declared as a recreation and tourism zone with Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) as its planning authority. In 2013, the reservation of slaughterhouses was shifted to survey number 282 (hissa number 4).
During the process, the land owners had officially registered their objections, but the tag remained. The town planning department recently sent out notices to owners of land parcels which have been tagged with a reservation for the construction of a slaughterhouse in Uttan. “Our region is already facing health-related issues due to the existing dumping yard and waste processing unit and now the administration wants to set up a slaughterhouse which is bound to aggravate the woes of villagers. We have sought the chief minister's intervention to stop this process,” said local municipal corporator Sharmila Bagaji.
Landowners who are engaged in traditional rice and vegetable farming on fertile land have vehemently opposed the acquisition process, which according to them, was gross injustice to them and their sole source of livelihood. Due to the unavailability of a slaughterhouse, roadside meat shops have turned into mini slaughterhouses lacking hygiene and basic infrastructure for stunning and handling.
“Our region is already facing health-related issues due to the existing dumping yard and waste processing unit and now the administration wants to set up a slaughterhouse which is bound to aggravate the woes of local villagers. We have sought the chief minister's intervention to stop this process.”
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