The Hindu       02.03.2017 

HC stops construction at illegal cremation ground

Grave issue:The “Chilla Gaon Shamshan Bhumi” sprung up in September 2016 on the Yamuna floodplain adjoining the main Delhi-U.P. Link Road.Special Arrangement  

Site located just 1 km from the Okhla Bird Sanctuary

The Delhi High Court has issued directions against further construction on an alleged illegal cremation ground coming up on the eco-sensitive Yamuna floodplains, just a kilometre away from the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.

Directing the civic agencies concerned to ensure that no more construction takes place, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva on Tuesday sought a response from the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and also the police.

No role: EDMC

The court also directed the EDMC to remove a board put up at the site which gives the impression that the construction is being undertaken by the civic agency, even as it denied any role.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Mayur Kunj Residents’ Welfare Forum through P. J. B. Khorana. The plea highlighted how an illegal “cremation ground” named “Chilla Gaon Shamshan Bhumi” sprung up in September 2016 on the Yamuna floodplains adjoining the main Delhi-U.P. Link Road.

Petitioner’s counsel G. V. Rao said the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) claimed to have handed over the land in question to the municipal corporation years ago. The land now falls under the jurisdiction of the EDMC, which said it never granted any permission for a cremation ground.

RTI plea

Mr. Rao said the cremation ground violated Section 390 of Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, since no permission was given for its establishment. Therefore, he added, the same is liable to be removed by the Commissioner under Section 391 of the Act.

In response to a Right To Information application by Mr. Khorana, the EDMC had said the cremation ground was not authorised by its Public Health Department.

The petition also stated that trees on the floodplains are being illegally felled, which in turn is devastating for the sensitive ecosystem.

The residents also said the new cremation ground was just “land encroachment”, as another cremation ground at Ghazipur located just 2-km away. The petition suspected role of the villagers in the “land grab attempt”.