RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has directed the city district government of Rawalpindi (CDGR) to launch a survey to find land for the establishment of a new graveyard in the district. However, they have ignored Rawalpindi tehsil and cantonment areas.

The provincial government asked the local administration to find new sites for the graveyards in Murree, Gujar Khan, Taxila, Kotli Sattian and Kallar Syedan tehsils.

Citing the rationale for ignoring Rawalpindi tehsil and cantonment areas, a senior official, who attended the meeting held to convey these orders, said: “Both town and cantonment areas have had 1,000 kanals in Rakh Dhamial for the graveyard and there is no need to purchase or acquire new land for this purpose.”

The provincial government has asked the tehsil administrations, in the meeting, to find 20 kanals in their respective areas for the establishment of new graveyards.

“The government will release the funds for purchase of private land and if the tehsil municipal administrations suggest acquiring government land, then it will initiate the land acquisition process for this purpose,” a senior official said.

“The provincial government has allocated Rs5 billion for all districts and funds will be released as per the requirements of the districts,” he said.

According to the survey of CDGR in January 2013, there were 1,994 graveyards in the district’s seven tehsils. Rawal Town has 33 graveyards, Potohar Town 711, Murree 308, Taxila 145, Kallar Syedan 390, Kahuta 34, Kotli Sattian 85, cantonment areas 11 and Gujar Khan has 271 graveyards.

The population of Rawalpindi tehsil and cantonment areas is more than the other six tehsils of the district and there is a dire need to find more space for graveyards. In the downtown, no new graveyard has been established since the partition of the Indian subcontinent.

The CDGR and town municipal administration have failed to properly manage the 1,000 kanals in Rakh Dhamial, about 20 kilometres away from the city. There is also a shortage of burial space in the present graveyards of cantonment, not only due to limited space and the growing population, but also because of lack of proper planning and regular maintenance on the part of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB).

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) City President Sardar Naseem told Dawn that the provincial government should make arrangements for new graveyards in Rawalpindi tehsil and cantonment areas because the Rakh Dhamial graveyard was far away from the city and people did not want to go there.

He said the PML-N leaders would try to convince the provincial government to purchase some land within the city limits for the new graveyard. He said it was the basic right of the people to have space for the burial of their loved ones.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2014