Prayagraj, Mar 30 (IANS): The Allahabad High Court has issued notices to the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government seeking their reply on alleged illegal operations of meat shops and slaughter houses in Ghaziabad.

Notices have also been served to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), animal welfare board of India, commissioner of food safety, Uttar Pradesh, Ghaziabad municipal corporation, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Hearing a PIL filed by Ghaziabad councillor Himanshu Mittal, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh directed the above-mentioned respondents to file their respective replies by May 3.

The PIL has raised state-wide non-compliance of the food safety and standards Act 2006, prevention of cruelty to animals Act, 1960, environment (protection) Act, 1986 and MOEFCC guidelines and various apex court orders.

Appearing for the petitioner, his counsel Akash Vashishtha submitted before the court that in Ghaziabad, out of nearly 3,000 meat shops and slaughterhouses, only 17 have licences under section 31 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

"Only 215 meat establishments are registered with the food safety department under the Act and only 62 improvement notices have been served upon them," the plea stated.

"None of the meat shops and slaughter houses in the district has mandatory consent to establish and operate under section 25 of the Water Act,", alleged the petitioner in his PIL.

The petitioner's counsel further submitted that the perpetual cruelty to animals is being caused in violation of laws.

In the Laxmi Narain Modi matter, the Supreme Court constituted a committee on slaughter houses for each state.

"Such committees are completely defunct across the state. The society for prevention of cruelty to animals, to be constituted in each district, is either non-existent or defunct in most of the districts," added counsel for the petitioner.