( 1 ) THE need for replacement of the existing slaughter house facilities in Delhi has been recognised for over a decade and serious consideration was first given to this as early as ;in 1967. The question of construction of a modern slaughter house in Delhi has been examined byslaughter house experts from the world over the FAO Mission was of the considered view that the present facilities at the slaughter house are inadequate and unhygienic. The report has given following reasons to support its case.

I) The most pressing need for new facilities relates to the totally inadequate and inappropriate location of the present slaughter house. Situation in the heart of the city is unacceptable because; -it is an unsocial activity that should be removed from residential areas; -gross movement of livestock into the centre of Delhi causes considerable traffic congestion.-serious public health risk arises from the large quantity of affluent for which urban sewers in old Delhi are not adequate. ii) The existing facility is physically inappropriate for the production of hygienic meat. Since the municipality has an obligation to the population in Delhi to make available public facilities for the preparation of hygienic meat, this obligation can be met only by replacement of the existing facilities. iii) The present site of some 3 hectares is far too small to accommodate the activities required in a livestock marketing and slaughter house complex serving Delhi. (The new livestock market and meat processing plant fully occupies a site approaching an area of 40 hectares.) iv) The traditional slaughter system is not conducive for maintaining high standards of hygiene and adequate veterinary control. This indicates the need for the introduction of production line technology to be introduced particularly at the potential scale of operation envisaged. v) Pre-slaughter facilities arc inadequate leading to: -poor ante-mortem inspection-economic losses due to weight loss; -lowering of meat quality because of pre-slaughter stress and -difficulty in controlling and organising the functionaries and the slaughtering operations. vi) There is considerable wastage of potentially valuable by-products owing to - -inadequacy of the physical facilities for collection and handling of minor by-products.-impossibility of centralised assembly of minor by-products with the present dressing system and -absence of facilities for the processing of by-products on site and lack of space to establish such facilities within or near the existing slaughterhouse. vii) There is need to consider the new abattoir as part of a long range " national plan to structure the meat processing industry in India to provide markets for low valued animals and to stimulate extraction and up-grading of livestock in general. viii) The existing facilities are totally unsuitable for the production of meat for export. There would be a considerable premiumon exported meat, if it can be satisfactorily established that healthy animals have been slaughtered and carcasses dressed under approved and hygienic con- ditions. ix) The existing system of transporting meat in an uncontrolled fashion in open carts to the butchers and exporters premises is unsocial and leads to further risk of contamination of the meat.

( 2 ) THE Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority was impleaded as respondent in this writ petition. The Agricultural and Processed Food Product Export Development Authority is statuary body under the control of Ministry of Commerce Govt. of India. The object of this authority is to enhance and promote agro-products including meat products which is one of the scheduled projects under the Act. Cessation of meat and meat products exports would have serious repercussions on foreign exchange earnings and future share in the international meat export market. It is pertinent to point out that export of meat and meat products from Delhi region is ar