Hyderabad: Crores of rupees of public money were spent on setting up the Amberpet slaughterhouse, but it has apparently failed to serve its purpose.
The municipal corporation spent Rs 22.15 crore on building the slaughterhouse and installing advanced equipment, but the place is not being used for slaughter over the past few days.
GHMC Commissioner M Dana Kishore, who did a surprise inspection of the slaughterhouse on Thursday in Amberpet, Hyderabad, pulled up officials for the state of affairs.
The slaughtering of animals is being done on vacant land outside the slaughterhouse, because of which the modern facility is remaining unused. The Commissioner asked the officials why they were allowing slaughtering outside.
Chief Veterinary Officer Venkateshwar Reddy told the Commissioner that the Amberpet slaughterhouse was leased to a private agency for a period of three years for a royalty of Rs 10 crore. The lease period ended in January 2018, but the city civil court had asked the civic body not to terminate the lease.
The GHMC has filed a vacation petition in the case. He also expressed dissatisfaction for not initiating any action against the agency, which paid a royalty to the municipal corporation, when its cheques bounced repeatedly.
The Commissioner sought to know why cheque-bounce cases were not filed against the agency. He said a review meeting would be convened shortly to review the performance of the Hyderabad’s slaughterhouses.