In an order issued by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram following a decision made in its House on Thursday, all meat shops in the city will remain shut on Tuesdays. The proposal was made by a few councillors, who raised the issue citing religious sentiments, and finally approved by the House.
The MCG House also increased the price of license fee for meat shops from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. The penalty for unauthorised butchers is up by 10 times, from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000. The decision to increase the license fee and crackdown on illegal meat shops was primarily on the agenda, but the decision on shutting meat shops on Tuesday was taken after the issue was raised by some councillors, The Indian Express reported.
Crackdown on illegal shops
There are 129 licensed meat shops in Gurugram as of 2018, but there are over 150 operating illegally. The decision was met with mixed reactions. Mayor Madhu Azad supported the resolution to shut meat shops on Tuesdays, but Pritam Singh, the president of Jacobpura meat shops association, said the move would cause revenue loss.
"If the MCG has passed this resolution, there is little else the association or the shopkeepers can do. The MCG should have taken into account that even if a few members of one community do not consume meat on Tuesday, other communities consume it. We were open seven days a week but now, will be forced to close on Tuesdays and lose revenue," said Singh.
Even the MCG commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh said food is an independent choice.
"In my opinion, this is an individual choice. I eat, my wife doesn't eat, it is independent. I cannot force her and she cannot force me... When we cannot decide on this at home itself, the House should think before making any decision regarding the entire city," said Singh.
