ISLAMABAD: After receiving complaints from citizens about overcharging, city managers on Thursday decided to waive grave-digging and coffin carrier bus service fees to facilitate residents of Islamabad.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) board approved a summary to name Service Road East of Sector F-10 after Olympian Arshad Nadeem.

The decision was made on the day Arshad Nadeem contested the men’s javelin final at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo, Japan.

Last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, following Arshad’s historic achievement of winning Pakistan’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in an individual event, had directed the CDA to name a road in Islamabad after the top athlete.

After Thursday’s approval, the board will now forward the summary to the federal government for final approval.

These decisions were made during a meeting of the CDA Board, chaired by Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa.

The board approved the summary moved by Chief Officer of Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), Dr Anam Fatima, for waiving grave-digging and coffin carrier bus charges.

Sources said that earlier the official fee was Rs3,600 for a grave, including the plot, slabs and a mud grave without bricks, in addition to coffin carrier bus charges.

However, staff deputed at graveyards often charged hefty amounts, in many cases up to Rs20,000, in the name of bricks. “Today, the board waived charges for digging and the coffin carrier bus service, so technically, all types of charges have ended. But still, the CDA/MCI will have to ensure an end to the brick business to avoid exploitation of people,” said an official.

He added that if the brick business was not stopped, there would be no major relief for citizens, as officials of the DMA, in connivance with private contractors supplying bricks, would continue to charge people for brick graves and slabs.

He said that bereaved families, in their state of grief, had to pay the demanded amount without bargaining.

“Let me appreciate Chairman CDA, board members and Chief Officer MCI for waiving grave-digging and coffin carrier bus charges. But they must ensure the end of the bricks/slabs culture to avoid exploitation of people. There should be uniform graves without bricks, free of cost,” he said.

“The purpose of this decision is to provide citizens with all possible relief and facilities during their time of grief. In this regard, the chairman CDA directed that more coffin carrier buses be provided to graveyards in Islamabad,” read a press release issued by the CDA after the board meeting.

The board also decided on important measures to further improve the standard of the Capital Hospital. The meeting discussed various proposals for a revenue generation plan for the hospital and specifically decided to revise the current fee structure for private patients under the Institutional Based Private Practice (IBPP). The CDA chairman said that revenue generated from the plan should be spent on improving and providing facilities at the hospital.

He directed that new and modern computers and equipment be provided to digitise the Capital Hospital and to implement a cashless system.

The CDA board also considered the Internship Policy 2025 and decided to hire graduates from Pakistan’s top universities for internships at the authority.

The meeting approved the allocation of space for the establishment of an ANF office adjacent to the New Islamabad International Airport. Similarly, the board approved, in accordance with rules and regulations, the request for land allocation for the construction of a police station in Islamabad.

The board also approved, in line with rules and regulations, a rental agreement with the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) for the use of the landfill site for Islamabad’s municipal solid waste management.

It also approved an extension in RWMC’s service period for transporting solid waste from Islamabad’s transfer stations (I-9, I-11, and other sites) to the dumping site at Chak Beli Khan Road, Rawalpindi.

The CDA board further approved the adoption of rules and procedures for the upgradation of Statistical Assistant employees in Grades 15 and 16 of the authority, in accordance with the Finance Division’s directives.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2025