The High Court on Monday once again underlined that the right to be cremated with dignity is as important as any other right of an individual. They also took notice of the careless attitude of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in not providing space for additional burial grounds in the Deonar area for the last two years despite repeated orders. Due to this careless role of the BMC, the problem of burying dead bodies has arisen. Where should the citizens bury the dead bodies? Should we go to Mars for that? The court also asked such an angry question to the municipal corporation. The court also ordered the BMC Commissioner to explain all this and try to find a new place for the burial ground.
It is the statutory duty of the BMC to provide adequate space for disposal of dead bodies and Municipal Corporations cannot shirk their responsibility. A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar heard the municipal corporation while giving the above order. A Public Interest Litigation has been filed by Shamsher Ahmed, Abrar Chaudhary and Abdul Rehman Shah of Govandi for the demand for additional burial ground. During the hearing on the same, the court took notice of the role of the Municipal Corporation in this matter.
Eight months ago, the municipal corporation had told the court that three sites were proposed for the burial site, one adjacent to the existing burial ground in Deonar, one near the garbage dump in Rafiq Nagar and another eight kilometers away. However, when the municipal authorities inspected both the sites in Rafiq Nagar, it was seen that there was leakage from the garbage heap at both the sites. Therefore, the court was told on Monday's hearing on behalf of the Municipal Corporation that these two places are not suitable for burial grounds. The court took cognizance of it and drew attention to the careless attitude of the municipal corporation.
An order was given last November to make available one of the three proposed sites for the burial ground. However, even after eight months, the municipal corporation has not provided additional space for the burial ground. So, what should citizens do? Should the body be buried on Mars? The court expressed its anger.
A land under the jurisdiction of Hindustan Petroleum is also proposed and since this land is privately owned, the corporation had also told the court that it will have to be acquired. On top of that, the court had also ordered in the month of November to start the process to acquire the land and deposit 30 percent of the total land acquisition amount with the government. However, the government told the court that this amount has not been deposited. Even on this, the court held the municipal corporation on edge. We repeatedly ordered to ensure that all three proposed sites are made available for burial grounds at the earliest.
However, the court observed that the expected cooperation is not being provided by the municipal administration. Also, the court ordered that the municipal commissioner should personally look into the matter and give necessary instructions to the officials regarding finding another plot for the burial ground within three kilometers of Rafiq Nagar. The court also ordered the commissioner to take necessary measures to complete the process of acquisition of the land adjacent to HPCL.
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