MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Government to implement a uniform framework for the construction, operation and waste management of slaughterhouses across the State.

It also upheld the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) order barring the Kayalpattinam municipal slaughterhouse in Thoothukudi district from operating without the consent of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).

A Division Bench of Justices M. Dhanapani and N. Dilip Kumar observed that all existing slaughterhouses in the State should be brought in line with a uniform framework to ensure compliance with applicable laws and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines.

On a petition filed by the Mass Empowerment and Guidance Association, Thoothukudi district, the NGT's Chennai bench on July 24, 2026, directed the Kayalpattinam Municipality not to operate the slaughterhouse without complying with the conditions issued by the TNPCB.

The Kayalpattinam Municipal slaughterhouse falls under the "Red" category of units. For issuing consent for its operation, the TNPCB had directed it to install an adequate Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) and a rendering plant with a blood coagulator for processing animal waste. The NGT stopped the slaughterhouse's operation because the Kayalpattinam Municipality had not obtained the TNPCB's consent by complying with these directions.

The Kayalpattinam Municipality then filed a writ petition seeking to quash the NGT order. The Court noted that although slaughterhouses function in several local bodies, including town panchayats, municipalities and corporations, there is no uniform model or standard mechanism for their construction and waste management.

Referring to the Supreme Court's 2014 judgment in Laxmi Narain Modi v. Union of India and others, which calls for proper regulation and periodic supervision of slaughterhouses across the country, the Court suo motu impleaded the Secretary to Government, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, and the Commissioner of Municipal Administration, Chennai. It directed them to prepare a model plan for the construction of slaughterhouses and submit a report.

The two authorities then told the Court that a uniform framework for the construction, operation, waste management, pollution control and monitoring of slaughterhouses under local bodies would be formulated, based on the technical requirements in the CPCB's Revised Comprehensive Industry Document.

They sought one month for the preparatory work, which includes an expert study of the existing slaughterhouses, preparation of designs and estimates, completion of the tender process, and obtaining the Pollution Control Board's statutory approval for operation. They sought a further six months to execute the works, including installing the ETP and other pollution control infrastructure, and two months for commissioning by the competent authorities.

The Government assured the Court that, during this period, each slaughterhouse would be designed, executed and commissioned in accordance with the applicable laws and CPCB guidelines.

Recording the submission, the Court directed the State to implement the framework within the stated timeline. And it disposed of the writ petition on these terms.