What's point of skyscrapers when there is no place for burial grounds in Mumbai? asks HC

Lamenting lack of space for burying the dead in the metropolis, the Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government what was the point of having skyscrapers when there is no place for burial grounds in the city.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav Jamdar made the observation while hearing a petition filed by a local resident, Mohammed Furqan Qureshi, seeking a separate burial ground in the metropolis for Sunni Muslims.

Maharashtra’s Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told the court that the Chief Minister has taken a decision to allot 3,000 metres of land each for setting up funeral facilities for Hindus, Muslims and Christians in suburban Bandra.

However, a notification to this effect was yet to be issued, Kumbhakoni said and sought two more weeks’ time to complete the process.

The bench then noted that this was a serious problem.

”What is the point of skyscrapers when there is no place for this (burial grounds). You keep granting permissions for tall buildings and asking people to come here (Mumbai), but such basic facilities are not there,” CJ Datta noted.

The court posted the matter for further hearing after two weeks.