ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) board on Friday approved four sites for setting up of graveyards in rural areas of the capital.

The board, which met with CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed in the chair, approved the sties located at Lakhwal, Bhara Kahu, Farash and Humak.

Following complaints by the residents that they had nowhere to bury their dead in their localities, the CDA’s planning wing earmarked the sites.

The sites include 100 kanals each in Bhara Kahu and Farash Town and 50 kanals in Humak.“Being a development agency, it is CDA’s responsibility to provide the people in rural areas land for graveyards,” said the CDA chairman, adding the graveyards would be established on land that had been abandoned for a long time.

Islamabad has a population of two million, of which half lives in rural areas. Of the 50 union councils, 32 are located in rural areas and 18 in urban areas of the capital. For the urban population, the CDA has a graveyard in H-11 but there was no designated place for the rural areas.

The CDA board had also approved consultancy service for making a design of I-15. The sector was reserved for low-income residents in 2005. It has 10,289 plots and the CDA has taken possession of more than 90pc of the sector’s land but has not begun developing it.

“We have already called tender for the development of the sector, hopefully, after a month the development work will start,” said the CDA chief.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2019