Gorakhpur: Amid an uproar over the crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday sought to justify his move and said that he was only following the directives of the National Green Tribunal.


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"In the past couple of years, NGT had given directions many times that illegal slaughterhouses in UP should be closed down," he said at a rally here.


"The government would not trouble those slaughterhouses which are following the norms and have license.


“But the ones which are violating NGT norms, which are polluting the environment and posing threat to public health, would not be spared," IANS quoted him as saying.


He said the government has already started the process to banning illegal slaughterhouses.


Though there are laws against unhygienic practices in meat processing, such provisions are seldom used against offenders.


The Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1959, stipulates construction and regulation of slaughterhouse within city limits.


It also lays down rules for functioning of a slaughterhouse, sale of animals and control of private slaughterhouses.


However, the prescribed norms are often flouted.


Citing municipal sources, a Times of India report has claimed that some 140 slaughterhouses and 50,000 meat shops were running illegally in the state.


After swearing in as UP chief minister, Yogi Adityanath has ordered shutting down of over 100 illegal slaughterhouses and butcher shops in the state.


Also in Lucknow, around 200 illegal meat shops were shut down.


The move has been criticised by a section of stakeholders, claiming that the crackdown has left many people out of jobs.