The initiatives have disillusioned some of Mr. Modi’s early cheerleaders, economic liberals who supported him for his pro-growth economic agenda. R. Jagannathan, the editorial director of the conservative Swarajya magazine, called the new regulations “politically stupid, economically unsustainable, morally and ethically unacceptable and communally dangerous.”

Mr. Jagannathan argued that the regulations would damage the governing party in the critical regions of India’s south and the northeast, where beef is commonly eaten, and he warned Mr. Modi against “allowing rogue elements to circumscribe its political future by repositioning the party as a violent champion of Hindutva,” a movement that seeks to establish Hinduism as India’s intrinsic culture.

For Mr. Chaturvedi, the veterinary inspector, the crackdown initially seemed promising.

He had hoped that a large, efficient government slaughterhouse would replace the constellation of small, unsanitary facilities. But after helping to shut down seven meat-processing plants — in one case, because the smell emanating from inside “seemed to indicate that there were cow parts there” — he realized that no new permits were being issued.

“If the authorities do not find any other loophole, they get the city development authority to say that so-and-so factory did not get its building plan passed, so let’s shut it,” he said. Twenty-six slaughterhouses have been shut down for violations since March, said Rahul Bhatnagar, the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh. Forty-one remain open. No new licenses have been issued. “There is something called the law of the land,” Mr. Bhatnagar said. “It has to be implemented, then, whatever effect it may have.”

The economic blow has rippled through Muslim villages surrounding the meat factories. Villagers said they had sharply cut back their expenses — cutting out meat, eating only one meal a day and forgoing the usual celebration of Ramadan, which began late last month.