Shop owners will be penalised for violating the rules, the Mayor stressed. (File Photo)
A resolution to close meat shops on Tuesdays has been passed by Gurgaon's civic body - Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon or MCG - even as MCG Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh opposed the move.
On Thursday, the MCG held a meeting to discuss an increase in license fee and action against illegal meat shops. Several councilors at the meeting, however, also proposed closing of meat shops on Tuesdays in the city near Delhi, citing religious sentiments, reports said.
Vinay Pratap Singh opposed this proposal but the resolution was passed. "What one eats is a personal matter. Nobody should raise such matters. One can say that meat shops should be closed on Tuesdays. But according to me, it's a personal choice. I am a meat eater, my wife is not. But I don't force her and neither does she restrict my choices," he later told reporters.
Speaking to reporters on the move, MCG Mayor Madhu Azad said: "This was a (long-pending) demand of residents in the city to close meat markets for a day in a week... like there are weekly offs in all markets. The move comes amid complaints of illegal vendors."
"We chose Tuesday because a majority of people - 99 per cent - don't eat meat on the day," she said.
The order will be enforced across the city, she added.
Shop owners will be penalised for violating the rules, the Mayor stressed.
On illegal shops, Ms Azad said that shop owners will be penalised after three warnings and the shops will be sealed.