In a move to address the shortage of land for burial, cemeteries in Paharganj and Burari will from Friday begin giving burial plots to families of the deceased for a period of five years, after which the site will be re-used.
The direction was issued in a letter to heads of all churches in Delhi by the Indian Christian Cemetery Committee (ICCC) recently.
The letter also stated that in case of another death in the family within five years, the same grave will have to be used. The family would be able to retain it for five years from the date of the second burial.
The ICCC will also have the right to allow use of the same space for another burial. Pukka graves and gravestones will be removed and the remains shifted to niches — small shelves in cemetery walls.
No space
The ICCC passed the order following a Delhi High Court observation on shortage of land for burial in cemeteries.
In July, the High Court while hearing a case on unauthorised construction inside Amir Khusro Park near Sundar Nagar in south Delhi had flagged the issue of shortage of land for burials. The lack of space for Christian and Muslim graveyards has been a growing concern in Delhi, with many sites already forced to allow “doubling” in family graves.
