1. Sir Nairne Stewart Sandemanasked the Under-Secretary of State for India why the scheme for the construction of an abattoir at Lahore has been abandoned; and what, if any, is the actual monetary loss resulting from the abandonment?
The Under-Secretary of State for India (Lord Stanley)Before reaching any decision as to the construction of the abattoir or the acceptance of the scheme, the Government of India had taken great care to make sure that there was no risk of its giving any offence to religious susceptibilities. They had received formal assurance to that effect from the Government of the Punjab who, before giving that assurance, had themselves made careful inquiries from representative Hindus. It was solely in the confidence that no such offence was involved, that the Government of India decided to proceed with this scheme, which had great possibilities of economic and other advantages. Subsequently, however, it became clear that, for whatever reason, apprehensions had been aroused that an offence to religious susceptibilities would be involved in proceeding with the scheme. In these circumstances the Government of India did not feel justified in proceeding further with it. The latest estimate of the probable losses involved which I have received from the Government of India is from Rs.10 lakhs to Rs.16 lakhs, to which must be added the still undefined liabilities of Government under the cold storage project