Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has ignored Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s instructions given as far back as four years ago to construct 36 model graveyards in the city. The civic body has constructed just 24.
Officials claimed that public resistance, land disputes and change of architects had delayed the project. Of the 26 graveyards proposed to be constructed in two phases, the corporation has only managed to upgrade the existing graveyards.
According to data, the corporation has upgraded at graveyards at 24 places separately for Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
These are located at Taranagar, Moosapet, Kukatpally near bus depot, Gandhinagar, SP Nagar, Machabolaram, Punjagutta Devunikunta, Domalgudam vinayak nagar, Shivarampally, Amberpet (Mohini cheruvu), Mokshavatika, Mallapur, Jamalikunta, Swarga Margamu (Seetalmatha temple) and Sainagar (Lalapet); Miyapur, Gowthamnagar and Ramreddy Nagar and at Mettuguda for the Christians. About 80 per cent work has been completed at the Aryan Graveyard.
According to highly placed sources, the construction of graveyards modelled on the Mahaprasthanam at Jubilee Hills was much delayed as the Pheonix Group which had earlier assured that it would provide free designs for the project went back on its promise.
A senior official said that work was also slowed down as there was resistance from local graveyard committees, labourers were also reluctant to work in crematoriums, encroachments and legal disputes. Sources further said that the civic corporation has just upgraded the existing graveyards.
Quoting the example of the Hindu graveyard at Amberpet (Mohini Cheruvu) the civic organisation on the request of graveyard committee constructed only a toilet.
“While finding space for development of new graveyards has been a difficult task, maintaining the existing graveyards in good condition with required facilities and protecting them from encroachers was one of the greatest challenges,” a senior official of the corporation said.
Despite this track record, another senior official of the GHMC said that the corporation has decided would construct altogether 30 graveyards this year and would take up the construction of others depending on the availability of space and other infrastructural facilities.
