RAWALPINDI: Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Liaquat Ali Chattha as an administrator of Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation has notified The Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation, Regulation of Burial Places/Graveyard by-laws, 2023 for graveyards of Rawalpindi.

As many as 209 graveyards on 6,365 kanals of land were identified in the garrison city alone while the number of graveyards in the jurisdiction of the cantonment is not in the record of Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Boards.

Private housing societies have to transfer the land of graveyards in the name of the state but not a single housing society has done the job yet.

According to the notification issued by the commissioner Rawalpindi, the instant enforcement of these by-laws shall extend to all municipal/metro corporations, excluding cantonment, area of Auqaf department and Punjab Shaher-i-Khamoshan Authority.

Committee to be formed to make policies for maintenance, management

As soon as these by-laws come into force, the local government concerned or respective union council will notify the union council burial place/graveyard committee, which shall consist of the chairman and other official and non-official members specified by the UC from time to time.

As per by-laws, the committee is responsible for formulating policy for maintenance and management of burial places, monitoring, giving suggestions for their improvement, protection from encroachment, ensuring regular fumigation in burial places and assisting local government in fixing graves.

No new burial place shall be established without the approval of the local government, he said, adding a burial place shall be registered with the local government and subject to regulation, supervision and inspection by it in such manner as these by-laws may provide.

No person shall bring any animal, tonga or vehicle in the graveyard. No person shall be allowed to sell flowers within the premises, burial of poor and indigent persons will be arranged by the local government on its own and regular records will be kept. Without permission of the local government and the graveyard committee, no inscriptions or tombstones will be allowed.

The size of all graves will also be kept uniform. Violators of these by-laws will be dealt with under sections 172 to 176 and section 134.

The commissioner said that the soul that left the world deserves to be buried with dignity and respect, adding that it is the responsibility of the local government to provide a suitable place to bury people. In this regard, these by-laws have been made which are effective immediately.

He said that the local government, within 60 days of the issue of these by-laws, shall identify and demarcate all such places open to the public for burial.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2023