Provide burial ground for all Muslims: GHRC to CCP

Panaji: Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has directed the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) to allow burial of bodies of deceased Muslims from outside Panaji at St Inez kabrastan and complete the required land acquisition process for having a spacious burial ground.

A bench, while hearing a plea of Azad Jamatul Muslimeen Welfare Trust seeking direction to CCP to allow burying of bodies of people from the Muslim community residing outside the limits of CCP, said that no person from any community can be denied appropriate burial due to lack of space.

A single-member bench of Justice AD Salkar asked the CCP to coordinate with the state government and make sincere efforts to acquire required land for burial of bodies of deceased Muslims.

The CCP has stated that it cannot take the responsibility allowing for burial at the St Inez kabrastan of other than Panaji, Taleigao and St Cruz residents due to limited space. It further argued that it is the responsibility of concerned local panchayats to provide burial ground to the residents of the areas and CCP can’t take the responsibility of others.

“Non-availability of space cannot be an excuse to deny the burial facilities to any of the communities as denial of such basic facility amount to violation of basic human rights of the individuals,” the bench observed.

After hearing the argument, the Commission stated that though it is the paramount duty of the CCP to provide burial ground to all communities within their jurisdiction but the corporation cannot run away from the responsibility on pretext of space shortage to provide the burial facility to the Muslim community.

“It is therefore necessary that the CCP should make sincere efforts to acquire land for burial of the dead bodies of Muslim community without any further delay,” the Commission ordered.

GHRC also referred to its order passed in November 2017 in a similar case filed by social activist Dr Anthony Rodrigues wherein it had recommended that the director of Municipal Administration and the director of Panchayats take urgent steps to ensure that crematorium and burial grounds are made available to all persons in the respective municipal and panchayat areas so that the basic human rights of the persons are protected.