A South Delhi councillor of the Bharatiya Janata Party wants illegal slaughterhouses sealed or demolished because they can “lead to air crashes”. Munirka councillor Bhagat Singh Tokas has written to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, asking for action against illegal meat shops and slaughterhouses in some localities, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

Tokas is also the chairman of the Public Health Committee in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

“In Indira Market in Ekta Vihar [RK Puram locality], there are many illegal meat houses and dhabas operating and shop owners throw waste meat in nearby drains,” Tokas wrote in his letter. “This is the main cause of increasing bird activity in the area, which can result in air crash and many people may lose their lives.”

He wrote: “Similarly, in Rangpuri Pahari, there are illegal meat shops, animals are deskinned, and there is waste dumping, due to which lot of waste meat is generated. This area is close to the domestic airport.”

These localities fall “along the flight route”, Tokas told The Indian Express, confirming that he had written to Baijal because the Delhi Development Authority owns the land. The lieutenant governor heads the DDA.

Along with the letter, Tokas submitted a copy of the minutes of a meeting of the Airfield Environment Management committee. During the meeting, the Delhi International Airport Limited had pointed out the problem of meat dumping and illegal shops in some localities. It also asked government agencies, including the SDMC, the DDA and the Delhi Police, to respond.

Tokas said he wrote to Baijal because the DDA had not acted till now, and there are several eagles in the localities now.

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has been at loggerheads with the BJP – which runs three municipal corporations in the national Capital – over the civic body’s action against restaurants and shops for alleged unauthorised constructions since December.