LUCKNOW: The ongoing meat crisis in Lucknow could have been averted had successive governments not lacked the political will to build a modern slaughterhouse in the city. Despite the initiative to build a modern slaughterhouse being taken in 2006, the final orders came in 2015 even as the location had to be changed twice to zero in on Bindova village of Mohanlalganj in 2014.While the Municipal Corporation Act 1959 mandates all municipal corporations to construct and regulate a modern slaughterhouse in every city to provide fresh and hygienic meat to all the licensed suppliers, Lucknow's project has been moving at snail's pace since the past decade.It was stuck for various reasons; land dispute, lack of clearances, failed bidding process, changing cost and pursuance for Centre's approval. In 2006, around 5.19 hectare land was identified in Salempur, Pataura village, behind Kakori to build a slaughterhouse. With the state machinery not taking interest in the project, the Centre took back the remaining funds from LMC. In 2009, LMC again floated a proposal of building a centralised modern slaughterhouse for Lucknow worth about Rs 53 crore. But this file took almost five years to get clearance because of various loopholes at every level.An LMC official said, "The file was returned every year for revision because it couldn't get enough financial support from the bidders. In 2014, the file was cleared on PPP model. We submitted the DPR in October 2015 but couldn't take it further because of elections."

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