Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Friday directed officials to ensure that meat and liquor are not consumed in religious towns of the state along the banks of the Narmada river, PTI reported.

The river is considered sacred in Hinduism. There are over 450 religious structures in the 21 districts along the river in Madhya Pradesh.

On Friday, Yadav said that the environmental protection of Amarkantak, from where the Narmada originates, in Anuppur district, should be given priority, according to PTI.

“Future settlements, land should be identified away from the Narmada river’s origin and a satellite city should be developed,” he said at a meeting with the state officials. “Sewage should not be released into the Narmada. Work on it must be done within a time limit.”

Yadav also said that all mining activities in the river using machines should be banned. Work should be done in a phased manner to develop a “parikrama [circumambulation] path” for the convenience of devotees, he added.

On Saturday, Yadav told ANI that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state was making an effort to maintain the “sanctity and blessings” of the river by bringing all departments together.

“We aim to ban meat and liquor shops in religious towns,” he said. “I hope the decisions taken will be reviewed in November. This is not a one-day process, it is an ongoing one.”

The Opposition Congress called the move a “sacred” initiative. “It is a sacred idea,” Congress leader Jitu Patwari said, according to ANI. “The CM [chief minister] himself hails from Mahakal ki Nagri [Ujjain]. He should first ban liquor there.”

Hours after taking oath as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in December, Yadav had announced curbs on selling meat and eggs in open spaces.