Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said he had directed the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation to drop the proposed reservation for a slaughterhouse in Moshi, close to Alandi, in the draft of the revised development plan.“Under no circumstance will a slaughterhouse be allowed in (near) Alandi. I personally instructed the municipal corporation to cancel the reservation,” Fadnavis told reporters in the city.His statement comes amid strong opposition from residents and religious groups to the proposed slaughterhouse site in Moshi, about 4km away from the Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj temple under the Alandi Municipal Council. Moshi is within the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) limits, but several warkari organisations and residents expressed outrage over the plan to set up the slaughterhouse there. These warkari organisations also held a press conference to voice their objections on Saturday.Assuring the warkari community, Fadnavis said, “I want to make it clear — no such facility will be permitted anywhere in (near) Alandi.”Bhosari BJP MLA Mahesh Landge said residents of the area had submitted a written plea to the chief minister during his visit to the city on Wednesday. “I will pursue this matter until an official notification is issued by the state govt,” Landge said.The residents earlier said that the area where the slaughterhouse had been proposed was surrounded by several ongoing residential projects and a renowned religious institute was located nearby. Earlier this month, industries minister Uday Samant had assured the warkaris that the facility would not be constructed near Alandi. No official notification has been issued in this regard so far, though.PCMC has been struggling to establish a dedicated slaughterhouse for years. The existing facility in Pimpri was shut down in 2014, following Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB)’s order over environmental norms violation. Since then, animals from Pimpri Chinchwad are being sent to slaughterhouses operated by the Pune Municipal Corporation and the Khadki Cantonment Board. Previous attempts to set up such a facility in MIDC areas of Bhosari and Pimpri were stalled because of consistent opposition from residents.PCMC also faced residents’ protest over its proposed town planning (TP) schemes and had to roll them back in Charholi and Chikhali. It had proposed five TP schemes in Charholi, spanning over 1,425 hectares. A similar TP scheme was proposed for the Chikhali area over 380 hectares. Both were cancelled.
