Halal marking mandatory in NDMC eateries

Eateries under North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) will now have to "mandatorily" put up posters stating whether they serve 'halal' or 'jhatka' meat. This comes months after the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) passed a similar proposal that made it mandatory to write 'halal ' or 'jhatka' for the meat being served and sold by restaurants and meat shops.

New Delhi:Restaurants and shops in Delhi will now have to display whether the meat being sold or served is halal or jhatka as the BJP-led North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Tuesday cleared a proposal in this regard, the mayor said.

The proposal was recently moved by the Standing Committee of the NDMC.

North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash said the House "cleared the proposal in its meeting today".

"So, restaurants and shops in north Delhi will now have to mandatorily display whether the meat being sold or served is halal or jhatka," he said.

In Arabic 'Halal' means "permissible". Jhatka' method is one in which an animal is slaughtered in one go, while in the 'halal' method the animal is allowed to die after cutting a vein.

North Delhi has a number of eateries, restaurants and streetside shops selling or serving non-vegetarian food items, prominent places being Chandni Chowk, Daryaganj and Kashmere Gate.

A similar proposal was cleared by the House of the BJP-led South Delhi Municipal Corporation in late January.

Restaurants and shops in markets in areas like Defence Colony, Amar Colony, Sarojini Nagar, South Extension, and INA sell non-vegetarian items.

Officials had earlier said restaurants and meat shops will have to "display clearly and visibly" whether they are serving halal or jhatka.

With inputs from agencies