Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: After widespread criticism for placing meat shops under the “Green Category,” the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has reversed its earlier decision and reclassified these establishments as “Red Category,” mandating that operators obtain Consent to Operate under both the Water and Air Acts.
The initial classification, decided in a December meeting last year, had placed chicken and mutton shops in the Green Category based on effluent scores and wastewater samples that met the prescribed norms. However, the decision faced strong objections from animal welfare organisations and legal experts, who argued it violated the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Amid growing controversy, the classification was suspended in June.
In its latest meeting on October 7, the GSPCB confirmed the reclassification. According to the official meeting minutes, the Member Secretary informed that “all such units are now categorised as Red Category.” The Board is in the process of issuing directives to 19 registered meat shops to comply with the new classification.
Following the December 2024 decision, the Board received numerous representations from lawyers, the Animal Welfare Board of India, and the People for Animal Policy Foundation. Critics pointed out that keeping slaughterhouses under Red Category while assigning meat and poultry shops to Green was inconsistent with national pollution and animal welfare norms.
Previously, the GSPCB had cited the absence of a specific CPCB guideline for poultry cutting, prompting the state authority to undertake its own classification. Meat shops were also instructed to dispose of wastewater through septic tanks or soak pits.
With the reclassification to Red Category, all meat and poultry shops in Goa are now subject to stricter environmental regulations and must obtain the required statutory permissions.
