PANCHKULA, Feb 28 – Days after the Haryana government revoked its 2022 order designating areas around Mata Mansa Devi Shrine as a “holy area” with a ban on meat sales, the Panchkula Municipal Corporation (MC) has moved to reimpose similar restrictions under municipal law.
In a public notice issued on February 25, Municipal Commissioner Aparajita proposed a prohibition on slaughtering, sale, and purchase of meat and meat products in the vicinity of the shrine.
The notice invites objections from the public, which can be submitted to the MC office within a month.
The urban local bodies department had withdrawn the December 21, 2022, notification on February 20 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed its enforcement.
However, the new ban proposal cites the commissioner’s authority under the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act.
“The prohibition has been proposed under Sections 320, 329, 331, and 333 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, in line with a resolution passed by the Panchkula Municipal Corporation on September 29, 2022,” an official said.
The high court had intervened in April 2023 after local restaurateurs and shopkeepers challenged the 2022 order, arguing it lacked legal backing and violated their right to trade.
Petitioners contended they were operating with valid licenses and that imposing such restrictions without citing statutory provisions was unjustified.
The newly proposed restricted zone covers the commercial area in Mansa Devi Complex, extending from Mata Mansa Devi Temple along the MDC border and the cantonment area up to Singh Dwar, including MDC’s Sector 5.
It also stretches from Singh Dwar along the MDC-Chandigarh border up to the IT Park light point, covering Sectors 5-A, 5-B, 5-D, and 6, as well as Dolphin Chowk to the MDC’s Sector 4 boundary and the reserved forest area.
With the MC invoking its independent powers, the move is expected to reignite the legal debate over meat sales in the area.
