Even graveyards not being spared by land grabbers!

By Nischith N. | NT

Bengaluru: While people in the city are finding it difficult to find space in graveyards to bury their loved ones, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has encroached one such graveyard at J.J.R. Nagar in Chamrajpet assembly constituency and built a multi-storied building.

“When I visited the graveyard in J.J.R. Nagar, I found that the boundary wall was demolished. Graves attached to the wall were destroyed and construction work was going on. We had no idea what was happening. I have been seeing this graveyard since my childhood. Now all of a sudden this huge building has come up,” said Prakash, a local resident.

According to the RTI (right to information) copy filed by an activist S Bhaskaran, available with News Trail, it clearly says that several graves have been demolished, and BBMP has constructed JJR Nagar Palike Soudha. It is also claimed by the activists that encroachment of graveyard land has been done by the local political leaders and no permission was obtained by BBMP from competent authorities for change of land use.

Pointing to the illegal construction at grave - yard, Bhaskaran told News Trail, “Graveyards coupled with encroach - ments worry our community. We are not getting the point of removing the graves and constructing a huge building on it. What about the family members whose relatives are buried there? I was shocked to see a portion of the graveyard give way to a multi-storey building. Later I applied for the RTI to provide the concerned information or permission to convert the graveyard into a building, the reply was shocking.”

Bhaskaran applied for the RTI with the Assistant revenue officer (BBMP) Jagji - van Ram Nagar Subdivision seeking the detail of all the relevant land documents of the area. I had sought documents to prove land ownership by the BBMP, details of land grant from the state government, absolute sale deed and all encumbrance certificates, Khata certificate and Khata extract, tax paid , name of the present owner, all other revenue records and finally permission obtained by the BBMP from the competent authorities for the change of land use.

The reply says that no documents or the permission of change of land use is available. “Now people are worried a lot, as finding space for burial is getting difficult day-by-day and here almost 40 per cent of land meant for graveyards has been grabbed. Rapid urbanisation has meant Bengaluru is fast running short of burial space.

Graveyards are shrinking, the problem is becoming more because of rampant land-grab. Local MLA B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan and BBMP former corporator are involved in this. When I asked for the details, they immediately named it as BBMP Palike Soudha. This will definitely turn into a big issue, so better concerned departments to get into and solve the problem.”

According to the reports, the graveyard is spread across 3.5 acres and controlled by BBMP Health Department, out of which 90x125 square feet have been encroached upon by the local political leaders.

A social activist claimed that JJR Nagar has four Hindu graveyards out of which two have been completely encroached upon. The other grave yard looks like a park with pathways.