Four years after the closing down of the Corporation’s slaughterhouse at Kunnukuzhy on February 2013 due to unscientific waste management practices, yet another revival plan is now afoot to build a modern slaughterhouse in its place.

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted by the local body has now been approved, paving the way for the tendering process. “The project could now be executed only with funds of around Rs. 30 crore. The State government has agreed to provide a share of Rs. 20 crore. The rest will be from the Corporation’s plan fund. We will soon issue the call for a global tender. If everything goes fine, this time the project will be a reality,” says K. Sreekumar, Chairman of the Corporation’s Health Standing Committee.

As per the DPR, the proposed modern slaughterhouse will focus on producing value-added products. The whole set-up will include a meat processing unit, an effluent treatment plant, and a biogas plant. As per the Ministry of Food Processing Industries guidelines, the modernised slaughterhouse should include all machinery required for various slaughter operations, including overhead rails, conveyors, and shackles. Technical civil work should also include a cold storage, a power supply system and facilities such as rainwater harvesting.

During the last phase of the previous council, the Corporation was in talks with five private companies for the setting up a modern abattoir. Due to the costs involved, a private-public partnership project was proposed. However, this had failed to take off, as no agreement could be arrived at.