There are no graveyards for over 300,000 people living in housing societies in Islamabad and, as a result, in case of death of their loved ones they face hardship in arranging a place of burial for them.

On the other hand, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) claims that its graveyards are only for those who reside in its sectors.

At the moment, there are a couple of dozen residential sectors in D,E,F,G and I series which are managed by the civic agency. In these sectors, the CDA provides water, sanitation and other facilities and collects property tax from the residents. Moreover, plots and houses in these sectors are also transferred through the CDA which charges a huge fee for it. Besides other facilities, the residential sectors also have well-maintained graveyards where the residents can bury their loved ones after paying a nominal fee of Rs1,600.

But the residents of the housing societies, which are located in Zone II and Zone V of the capital, are not allowed to use the graveyards managed by the CDA. The most important sector is E-11 in which four housing societies are located but their residents are not allowed to use the CDA graveyards.

An officer of the CDA requesting not to be identified said that according to the CDA by-laws every housing society was bound to allocate two per cent of the land in its possession for a graveyard.

“The rule was made to ensure that the residents of the societies would get the facility of graveyard near their homes. But most of the housing societies converted the land reserved for the graveyards into residential and commercial plots,” he said.

“In case of a death in the housing societies, the family members of the deceased have to run from pillar to post in search of a graveyard on the outskirts of the city or in Rawalpindi. They pay almost Rs15,000 to Rs25,000 for each grave. Those who have connections approach the CDA officers to get a resting place for their loved ones in the CDA graveyards.”

He said the CDA had failed to ensure that every housing society allocated the two per cent land for the graveyard. In July 2011, the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat instructed the CDA to increase the allocated land for graveyards to three per cent in housing societies. However, the CDA even could not ensure the existing two per cent of the land.

At the moment, there are six graveyards and one Shamshan Ghat run by the CDA.

Another official in the CDA headquarter said there were two main graveyards in Sector H-8 and H-11. Moreover, there is a graveyard for Ismailis in the H-8 sector. Separate graveyards for Christians, Qadianis and Bahais are located in Sector H-9.

A Shamshan Ghat in Sector H-9 is also available for Hindus and Buddhists.

A resident of the federal capital, Shabir Ahmed, told Dawn that his father Altaf Qamar, who died in early 2000, shifted from Rawalpindi to Islamabad and changed the address in his national identity card only to be buried in the H-8 graveyard.

Shahid Nazir, a resident of Sector I-10/1, said he lived for years in Khayaban-i-Sir Syed, Rawalpindi, but then shifted to Islamabad and his father Nazir Ahmed was buried in the H-11 graveyard.

“There are lots of differences between the graveyards of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. In Islamabad, graves are properly maintained. Moreover, the grave and plot numbers are allotted so a person can find the grave of their loved ones even after years,” he said.

Mohammad Naeem, a resident of Sector E-11, said the residents of housing societies should be allowed to bury their loved ones in the CDA graveyards. He said it was the fault of the CDA that it could not ensure every housing society had a graveyard.

“In case of a death in the housing societies, it becomes a problem for the residents to bury the deceased. So most of the people shift the bodies of their loved ones to their native towns,” he said.

He was of the view that the those living in the housing societies were also the residents of Islamabad, so there should not be a double standard. The policy of the CDA is creating classes, he said. Another officer of the CDA said the civic agency had 70 staff members working in the graveyards, which were not sufficient. He said new appointments could not be made during the last almost 10 years.

Graveyard officer, CDA, Abdul Razaque said the first grave in H-8 was dug in 1964. The graveyard, spreading over 50 acres and having 40,000 graves, was almost filled in 2007.

“In May 2007, the CDA opened the H-11 graveyard, which spreads over 80 acres. As many as 10,000 bodies have been buried in the graveyard so far,” he said.

“In the H-8 graveyard, footpaths are five feet wide, each plot is 90X90 feet and there are 128 graves. In H-11 graveyard, the footpaths are 10 feet wide and there is a three feet wide drainage line along the footpaths. Each plot is 123X123 feet having 332 graves. The graveyard will be filled in another 15 to 20 years,” he said.

“The CDA charges Rs1,100 for stones used in the grave, Rs300 for digging and Rs4 per kilometre for the bus carrying the coffin,” said an official.

CDA spokesperson Asim Khichi said according to the by-laws of the civic agency, every housing society was bound to allocate a piece of land for the graveyard.

“Whenever the housing societies submit layout plans to the CDA, it shows a proper place for the graveyard. It is the job of the residents to force the management of the housing societies to implement the plans,” he said.

In reply to a question, Mr Khichi said action can be taken against the managements of the housing societies if the residents lodged complaints with the CDA.

Published in Dawn, October 5th , 2014