Sector 28 residents write to CM over delay in construction of crematorium

The residents of Sector 28 have sought the intervention of chief minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar over the delay in the development of a crematorium in their sector by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) even though the tender was allotted by the civic agency to a contractor last year. The residents alleged that despite repeated requests to the authority officials and the contractor, the work has not started yet .

In a letter written to the CM on February 24, the residents said, “It is over two years since the land was transferred by the Huda (Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran or HSVP) but it seems MCG officials do not intend to complete the project in time bound manner.”

The residents’ welfare association (RWA) of Sector 28 said that the crematorium in question was approved after a lot of struggle as the residents had to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking the transfer of an existing crematorium as it was operating from HSVP plots allotted to residents. “It was after a great struggle that the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in 2013, directed the HSVP to stop the cremation of bodies in plot numbers 324, 325 and 326, as there was no cremation ground approved on these plots as per the layout plan. The court also directed the state government to complete the development of an alternative cremation ground but nothing has happened,” RK Chauhan, a resident of the area, who had also filed the petition in the court, said.

Due to the presence of the crematorium close to their houses, the residents said that they had to face a lot of problems as no one wanted to see cremations right next to their homes. “A crematorium can’t be located in the middle of a sector. Work on an alternative site should be started at the earliest,” another resident said.

Raman Sharma, chief engineer, MCG, said that the work on the alternative site could not be started as there was the issue of garbage dumping there. “The work on the site will start within a week. We have already issued a notice to the present contractor and if he doesn’t start the work at the earliest, his contract will be cancelled and this work will be allotted to another contractor,” he assured.