Cremation ground in residential area? Palam Vihar residents urge MCG to intervene

Palam Vihar residents have sought the help of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) to intervene and shift a “cremation ground” located bang in the middle of the colony’s C-1 block. The residents’ welfare association (RWA) filed a complaint with MCG on Wednesday after villagers started construction on the 600 square yard land that is surrounded by homes.

The residents are been long demanding that the crematorium be shifted from the area, and have also approached the high court, which directed the authorities to take a decision in accordance with the law.

On Tuesday, when people from Sarai village started construction work on the land, the residents raised objections, and the police were called to the spot. However, residents said that since the land is under the jurisdiction of the civic body, police did not take action.

Jitender Sharma, who lives close to the disputed ground, said, “We have been trying to get this crematorium shifted since the year 2015. We appeal to MCG to move it elsewhere. We were misled by the developer at the time of purchasing land as the cremation ground was shown as a park. We realised it was a cremation ground only after the foundations of our houses had been laid,” he said.

The RWA has been trying to resolve the matter, and the association and people maintaining the cremation ground held several meetings with the developer and MCG officials in this regard, but to no avail.

“MCG took over the colony in 2018 and assured to shift the crematorium to another location after we approached the high court and the patwari was asked to find another location, but since then nothing has been done. Now, the villagers are renovating it. There is objection from all residents living in the block, but MCG has been turning a blind eye,” said Om Prakash Yadav, president, RWA Block C-1.

There are 700 houses in Block C-1 and more than 800 families have been residing here since 2011, said RWA members.

Neena Haridas, an environmentalist and resident of Palam Vihar, said they are extremely disappointed with MCG’s callous attitude towards an issue of such grave importance.

“A cremation facility cannot be erected inside a residential area and that too next door to a children’s park and our homes. In 2015, the court had ordered MCG to shift the cremation ground. This is clearly a failure of the government bodies to protect the rights of the residents who are directly exposed to polluted air from the burning of corpses,” Haridas said.

MCG deputy commissioner Vijay Pal Yadav said that they will look into the matter and a team from the civic body will visit the area on Thursday.

Meanwhile, villagers alleged the land belongs to the panchayat and the cremation ground has existed for years. “We’ve not been given an alternative spot. We’re law-abiding citizens and will abide by what authorities decide,” said a villager.