Capital’s rural population running out of burial space

ISLAMABAD, Feb 15 (APP):The Federal Capital’s rural population is swiftly running out of burial space due to expanded
urbanization and mushroom growth of unauthorized housing societies not dedicating land for
the purpose.
The rural population accommodating an influx of urbanization have demanded of the authorities
concerned to ensure provision of land to the new localities emerging out of the civic bodies control in zone four and five.

PML-N Vice Chairman UC 22, Ilyas Kiyani while talking to APP said due to increased cost of land and improper planning by the housing societies the issue of space for burial is aggravating and settlers have to move their bodies to their native towns.
He said the locality has only one graveyard and space is swiftly shrinking and locals not allowing outsiders to bury their deceased here.
The issue he said has been brought in the notice of the Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development division (CADD) Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry for allocation of land for another graveyard. The minister has assured to look in to the matter on priority.
PMl-N’s vice chairman from UC 18 Raja Amjed said there is no official graveyard in NA 48-49 constituency and huge population have to move their deceased to their native localities despite their over the years settlements in these areas.
An official form Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) informed that Chairman CDA had directed to provide temporary burial facility to the residents of UC-44 to 48 in H-11/3 graveyard.
An official requesting anonymity from Regional Planning Department of Capital Development Authority (CDA) said that their department did not have the authority to alter ICT zoning regulations and that grant of permission was an attempt to provide benefit to the private housing societies which had been built on land reserved for public buildings, graveyards, parks, schools or mosques.
He added that according to Modalities and Procedures framed under ICT (Zoning) Regulation 1992 for the development of private housing schemes, it was mandatory for housing societies to reserve at least two per cent of their land for graveyards.
“Recently, IMC moved a case for a graveyard of Indian community which had been approved by our department”, he added.
In the meanwhile the christian community has also demanded for an allocation of the piece of land in capital’s rural areas exclusively.
It is pertinent to mention that National Assembly had recently adopted a resolution, moved by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Asad Umer, for allocation of separate land for graveyards in rural areas of Islamabad.