Restaurants and shops must display whether meat is jhatka or halal, says North Delhi civic body
Similar orders were earlier passed by the South and East Municipal Corporations.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Tuesday cleared a proposal that makes it mandatory for restaurants and shops to display whether they are serving halal or jhatka meat, reported PTI.
Halal food is meat and poultry killed in accordance with Quranic guidelines derived from the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, while jhatka is the meat from an animal slaughtered in one go.
The proposal to bring in the distinction was recently moved by the Standing Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party-controlled North Delhi Municipal Corporation. “So, restaurants and shops in north Delhi will now have to mandatorily display whether the meat being sold or served is halal or jhatka,” North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash said.
The Standing Committee proposal said that 90% of the restaurants and shops that operate in the 104 wards under the north civic body serve meat, but many do not display whether it is halal or jhatka, reported the Hindustan Times.
“According to Hindu and Sikhism, eating halal meat is forbidden and against religion,” the proposal said. “Therefore, this meeting resolves that this direction be given to restaurants and meat shops that it should be written mandatorily about the meat being sold and served by them that jhatka or halal meat is available here.”
Prakash said that people have their preferences but one cannot tell the kind of meat being served in the restaurants. “Halal or jhatka meat can be seen written on the meat shops but such a practice is seldom seen in restaurants,” the North Delhi mayor said. “So it is a healthy exercise to mention that halal or jhatka meat food is being served at the restaurants. The proposal has been approved keeping people’s sentiments in mind and there is no other reason behind it.”
North Delhi has many eateries and restaurants selling non-vegetarian food items. Prominent areas include Chandni Chowk, Daryaganj and Kashmere Gate.
A similar proposal to distinguish between jhatka and halal was passed by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation in January. The East Delhi Municipal Corporation had passed the order in 2018.
After the South Delhi Municipal Corporation passed the directive, restaurants had urged the civic body to withdraw its order as they are already dealing with the coronavirus crisis and its economic impact.