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”.
