6,053 villages, 272 towns of the state requires burial grounds, govt tells HC

Bengaluru: The government on Wednesday informed the Karnataka  High Court that though it has been making budgetary allocations every year for the purchase of private lands in villages and towns for the burial grounds, there is still lack of burial grounds in 6,053 villages and 272 towns of the state. 

Recently, Mohamed Ikbal, a resident of Bengaluru, had filed PIL petition complaining about lack of burial grounds. 

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice S. Sujatha were hearing the PIL petition filed by him on Wednesday, during which the government informed that the data furnished by the Deputy Commissioners of all the 30 districts as on March 31, 2016, indicated the requirement of burial grounds in 7,176 villages and the same has been reduced to 6,053 as on October 31, 2018. The government has allocated ₹10 crore in the budget for 2018-19 for providing burial grounds, it has been stated.

After hearing the government’s claims the Bench adjourned hearing till January 16 asking the petitioner to respond to the government’s claims and also asked the government to file additional statement.