SHC seeks explanation for graveyard land grabbing

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday issued notices to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and others on a petition against encroachments on graveyard lands across the city.

Wajahat Saeed said in his petition that most of the graveyards in the city have now become overfilled and closed to the public for burial, adding that no further space has been allocated for graveyards.

His counsel Shahab Usto said that as per media reports, the total number of existing graveyards in the city is 237 and many of them were built decades ago when the city’s population was much lower than the current populace, which is estimated to be around 20 million.

He said that out of 203 public graveyards available, only 41 are registered with the KMC, while the rest of the 162 graveyards are being controlled by self-appointed administrators and land mafias.

He added that the KMC and the provincial government have failed to regulate the graveyards or remove the illegal control of the mafias from public burial grounds. Usto said the petitioner, who is also a journalist, interviewed a large number of the aggrieved people, who come largely from lower and middle classes, and they narrated poignant tales of exploitation at the hands of graveyard operators and undertakers, who charge between Rs30,000 and Rs50,000 for a burial.

He added that the SHC had also directed senior member of Sindh’s Board of Revenue to ensure that in all new schemes a proper piece of land is earmarked for the purpose of graveyards in the master plan.

He said the petitioner has not seen any evidence of compliance with the court’s orders, which is why people continue to find it extremely difficult, rather humiliating, to get a small piece of land to bury their dead.

The counsel said the Essa Nagri, New Karachi, Drigh Road and Malir Rafah-e-Aam graveyards have been illegally encroached on by land grabbers who have erected unauthorised constructions and other structures on the amenity lands.

He added that the DHA also initiated a mega project, namely Creek Terraces and Creek View, under the banner of the Creek City project in Phase-VIII in 2003-4 and said the projects have been constructed on an area measuring 43 to 45 acres.

He said the projects have been developed on the land that was specifically earmarked for various amenities, such as schools, parks, sewage treatment plant and graveyard. The court was asked to direct the Sindh government, the KMC and the land owning agencies to ensure that all the amenity plots that are and were meant for graveyards are used for no other purpose, including but not limited to commercial, industrial or housing projects, but only for graveyards.

The court was also asked to cancel the conversion of all the amenity plots that were specifically earmarked for construction of graveyards into housing, commercial or industrial projects, and to direct the relevant authorities to construct graveyards on the amenity lands as per the master plans or original schemes.

After the preliminary hearing of the petition, the SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi issued notices to the Sindh government, the KMC and other land owning agencies, calling for them to file their comments on September 5.